Colombo | A heavy security cordon was placed around the Colombo Fort magistrate's court here on Tuesday as the corruption case involving former Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe was listed to be taken up in the afternoon, police said.

Access to three roads leading to the court has been restricted to control movement in the area, they said.

Prison officials said 76-year-old Wickremesinghe, who is undergoing treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Colombo National Hospital, will not be produced in court.

“He will not be taken to court in his present health condition. If the court decides, we will arrange for his participation through a Zoom call," prison spokesman Jagath Weerasinghe said.

Wickremesinghe was taken to the main Magazine Remand prison close to midnight on Friday after the Colombo Fort magistrate's court remanded him till August 26.

Initially admitted to the prison hospital, he was later transferred to the National Hospital ICU after his health deteriorated due to dehydration.

Wickremesinghe has been accused of misusing LKR 16.6 million to fund a private visit to the UK in 2023, where he attended a university convocation of his wife Maithree. He has denied the allegation, insisting that the trip was official as the invitation was extended to the President of Sri Lanka in his capacity as head of state.

The former president was arrested on Friday last week by the police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) after nearly five hours of questioning.

His aides had also been interrogated earlier, officials said.

The veteran leader, who served as president between July 2022 and September 2024, became the first head of state in Sri Lanka's post-independence history to be arrested when he was taken into custody on Friday.