He faces three charges related to trips he took abroad while serving as president. Wickremesinghe arrived at magistrates court in the capital Colombo on Friday, having already given a statement to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) earlier in the day. He served as president from 2022 to 2024, stepping into the role after the country's worst ever economic crisis triggered a popular uprising which caused his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee. He was widely credited with helping put the island nation back on the road to economic recovery.

Wickremesinghe also served six separate terms as prime minister from the 1990s onwards. According to BBC Sinhala, the 76-year-old made 23 foreign trips during his time as president, at a cost of more than Rs 600 million ($2m; £1.4m). Friday's arrest relates to a stop over made in the UK in 2023, on Wickremesinghe's way back from a G77 summit in Cuba, news agency AFP reports. On that occasion, he and his wife had attended a University of Wolverhampton ceremony. Sri Lanka's CID allege this was a private visit for which state funds were used - something Wickremesinghe has denied. Their investigation was initially referred to a court in June. (BBC)