The arrest of former president Ranil Wickremesinghe has up-ended Sri Lanka's political landscape.
For the first time in the country's history, a former head of state has been detained on corruption charges.
But observers say his arrest raises questions about the direction of the country's new government, led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and about whether it strengthens or undermines a fragile economic recovery.
Questions over priorities
Mr Wickremesinghe is accused of misusing public funds to stop over in Britain and attend a university ceremony in London where his wife received an honorary professorship, after he made an official visit to Cuba and the United States, according to local media.
The former president maintains that no state funds were used for the visit to Britain.
His party says he is innocent and that the case against him is politically motivated — which Mr Dissanayake denies.
Mr Wickremesinghe, who served as Sri Lanka's president from 2022 to 2024, was released on bail this week.
Yet, to many observers, the charges prosecutors have chosen to pursue against him feel oddly underwhelming.
"This particular incident is a puzzle because the grounds [on] which they have gone for him seem quite minor," said Ganeshan Wignaraja, a political analyst based in Colombo.
"Time will tell whether this is making a mountain out of rather a trivial thing."
Others said the case was symbolic of the government's commitment to tackling alleged corruption.
"It is sending a message that no one is above the law when you see someone as powerful as Ranil Wickremesinghe in handcuffs," said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia Division.
"However, while it is important to investigate abuse of public funds, we are still waiting for the Dissanayake government to make a serious effort to ensure accountability for war crimes and rights violations," she said.
Mass atrocities committed during Sri Lanka's 26-year civil war have gone unpunished, while there is continuing intimidation and surveillance of victims and activists in previously war-affected areas in the north and east.
Critics of the case against Mr Wickremesinghe say that while he is being targeted, there have been no prosecutions against ex-presidents Gotabaya and Mahinda Rajapaksa, who have been widely blamed for steering Sri Lanka into economic collapse in 2022.
Rajapaksas left untouched
When Mr Dissanayake and his leftist National People's Power (NPP) coalition swept to power last September, they rode a wave of public fury over corruption, austerity, and elite privilege.
Most of that fury was directed at Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the country after tens of thousands of protesters stormed his home over his mismanagement of the economy.
"The government hasn't gone after [the Rajapaksas] because it doesn't want to go to court and lose a case in court [when] it is still collecting conclusive, definitive evidence to be able to convict," Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, director of the think tank Centre for Policy Alternatives, told the ABC.
The Rajapaksas's rule was marked by allegations of corruption, debt-fuelled infrastructure projects, and disastrous tax cuts.
"We have to wait and see whether they're going to proceed with who the public believes are the real culprits. As far as corruption is concerned, this a step-by-step approach," Mr Saravanamuttu said.
Sri Lanka is still climbing out of its worst economic crisis in decades.
Nearly a year on, the Dissanayake government faces the test of translating its rhetoric against corruption into meaningful policy.
"There is a point at which that anti-corruption drive may become a distraction from not actually doing the things it is supposed to be doing to focus on economic growth," Mr Saravanamuttu said.
Fragile economy in balance
If Sri Lanka is to escape the shadow of crisis, analysts say the focus must be not only on arrests, but also on structural change.
Inflation remains high, debt restructuring is incomplete, and foreign investors are watching carefully, particularly China and India.
"The media buzz risks distracting the government from doing critical reforms to open the economy to foreign trade and investment, cutting cumbersome red tape and investing in infrastructure," said Mr Wignaraja, a visiting senior fellow from think-tank ODI Global.
The International Monetary Fund has tied further aid to reforms that would broaden Sri Lanka's tax base, restructure state-owned enterprises, and ensure more fiscal discipline.
Local analysts say cumbersome bureaucratic processes and slow approvals for setting up small businesses remain major barriers.
"We need to have ease of doing business that doesn't involve five to 10 various authorities before you can actually start a business," Mr Saravanamuttu said.
"We also need to embrace digital technology and recognise that AI is going to be a major force so we need to start training people to deal with it, and not continue to promise more jobs in public service without thinking of a leaner, more efficient state."
Lasanthika Hettiarachchi, a lawyer at Transparency International Sri Lanka, said Mr Wickremesinghe's arrest is not a real turning point for accountability.
She argues that moment came earlier when the Supreme Court ruled that Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Mahinda Rajapaksa, along with a former finance minister and senior economic officials, had breached public trust through mismanagement.
"That judgement broke the long-standing impunity of politicians hiding behind policy decisions," she said.
What mattered now for investor confidence was whether the rule of law and due process were respected, public finances were managed transparently, and strong oversight institutions were allowed to function independently, she said.
