Sri Lanka's former president Ranil Wickremesinghe has been arrested in connection with the alleged misuse of funds, police have said, BBC reported.

The charge relates to trips he took abroad while serving as president.

He is due to appear in a magistrates court in the capital Colombo on Friday, having already given a statement to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) earlier in the day.

Wickremesinghe served as president from 2022 to 2024, stepping into the role after the country's worst ever economic crisis triggered a popular uprising caused his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee, according to BBC.