Sri Lanka ex-minister arrested over theft of king's sacred stone

A former Sri Lankan minister was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly aiding the theft of a centuries-old sacred rock from the palace of the island's last Sinhala king, an anti-corruption body said.

Keheliya Rambukwella was detained over the theft of the heavy carved circular granite rock known as a "moonstone" -- part of a symbolic stepping stone entrance to the palace of Veera Parakrama Narendrasinghe, the king who reigned until 1739.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) said he had conspired in the removal of the valuable historic object in December 2022, and had also obstructed police investigations at the time.

"He conspired, aided and abetted the theft at a time when he was a minister," CIABOC said.

It said Rambukwella had also been charged with the unrelated offence of using state funds to employ six people for his private business.

The arrest came amid a separate, ongoing court case against him over the purchase of counterfeit medicines for state hospitals while he was health minister.

Police have told the court that he authorised the purchase of a life-saving cancer drug that turned out to be water.

Several other senior health ministry officials have also been indicted over the drug scam.

Rambukwella was health minister when Sri Lanka faced an acute shortage of medicines after defaulting on its $46 billion foreign debt in April 2022, following its declaration of bankruptcy.