It is following this instruction that businessman Tirukumar Nadesan, a closest friend of prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, was arrested yesterday (17), political sources told Sri Lanka Mirror.

The president has also instructed that follow up legal steps be taken with regard to the Central Bank bond issue after the COPE report into the matter is released.

Arjun Mahendran, the bank’s governor at the time, too, is a close friend of the PM.

The presidents’ media unit says the president has received reports that six UNP ministers have been involved in major fraud and corruption.