(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) – Sri Lanka’s former Ambassador to Russia, Udayanga Weeratunga, who has been issued an international warrant for his arrest, has been detained at the Dubai International Airport in UAE.
The former diplomat was detained by the Dubai police for questioning while he was in transit to travel to the United States this morning, Sri Lanka’s state media reported.
Weeratunga, who is a relative of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, is alleged to have committed financial misappropriation to the tune of US$ 14 million while purchasing four Ukraine-built MIG-27 aircraft for the Sri Lanka Air Force in 2005.
The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on 19 October 2016 allowed the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) of the Police to issue an international warrant to arrest Weeratunga in connection with the investigation into the financial irregularities with regard to the MiG aircraft deal.
The court in January 2017 ordered to suspend 16 banks accounts of Weeratunga and in January this year, the court banned the sale or transfer of his properties in Sri Lanka.
