What began as a celebrated charity cycling movement has now spiralled into a courtroom and organisational battle, with ownership claims, banking concerns, competing events, and deepening divisions threatening to overshadow the very cause Ride for Ceylon once stood for.
What was once hailed as a unifying charity movement that brought cyclists together in support of a noble healthcare mission has now descended into a bitter legal and organisational war, complete with accusations, counterclaims, competing structures, and a widening struggle over ownership, authority, and legacy.
The once-admired Ride for Ceylon, long regarded by supporters as a passion project close to the heart of its original founder Michael Arnold, has now come spectacularly off track. What began as a heartfelt mission to raise funds for healthcare causes in Sri Lanka has evolved into a courtroom dispute exposing deep fractures among individuals who once worked side by side under the same charitable banner.
From Charity Collaboration to Open Conflict
At the centre of the dispute is David Rasiah, who has claimed that he and Michael Arnold had formally registered the Ride for Ceylon domain, an organisation linked to members of the Arnold family, including Shevanandan Arnold and Dr. Jayantha Arnold, who are said to have served as trustees of the Friends of Manipay Hospital.
But according to reliable sources, Michael Arnold, the original founder and co-owner of Ride for Ceylon, has nothing to do with the current ongoing happenings. Those same sources indicate that the present battle is not between Michael Arnold and David Rasiah, but rather between David Rasiah and the Arnold brothers, with several others also named as respondents in the case now before court.
This distinction is seen as significant, particularly given the emotional and reputational weight attached to the original Ride for Ceylon concept, which many still associate directly with Michael Arnold.
Serious Concerns Over Bank Accounts and Funds
Further claims now add another controversial dimension to the dispute.
According to information believed to be known to persons close to the matter, Michael Arnold is also said to have had no knowledge that bank accounts opened in the name of Ride for Ceylon had been operational, with millions of rupees allegedly being deposited and debited without his knowledge.
These remain serious allegations, and at this stage they form part of the broader swirl of concerns over authority, ownership, transparency, and accountability surrounding the organisation and its assets.
If true, such claims would further deepen the crisis, raising difficult questions not only about branding and organisational control, but also about who had legal and moral authority to act in the name of Ride for Ceylon.
The Breakaway That Changed Everything
Although the charity rides had built momentum between 2019 and 2024, raising substantial support and drawing enthusiastic riders year after year, tensions were reportedly building beneath the surface.
The decisive turning point came when David Rasiah broke away and launched his own event, Trek for Ceylon, in 2025.
That move appears to have triggered the complete breakdown of the relationship.
The Arnold brothers have alleged that Rasiah did not merely separate from the original effort, but took with him core elements of the Ride for Ceylon operation, including the rider database, financial information, and key operational knowledge.
Those allegations, if established, go to the heart of trust and stewardship within the movement.
Trek for Ceylon’s New Structure Revealed on WhatsApp Groups
As the fallout intensified, Trek for Ceylon communications began outlining what appeared to be a completely new organisational direction.
According to messages circulated on WhatsApp groups, Trek for Ceylon announced a formal restructuring and an expanded charitable mission. One message stated:
“Further to Siva Sharma’s recent message, I would like to clarify the new organisational structure which comes into immediate effect.”
The same message said that over the past eight years, Ride for Ceylon as a brand had raised over £300,000, approximately Rs. 125 million, in cash and goods towards the rebuilding and equipping of Green Memorial Hospital, working in partnership with the UK-registered charity FoMH.
It further announced that, in keeping with its commitment to support the needy and underprivileged, the movement would now branch out to assist other medical institutions, clinics, and rehabilitation facilities throughout Sri Lanka.
The message also stated that the 2025 event would be administered and managed by Trek4Ceylon Limited, also referred to as T4C.
According to that communication, TREK4CEYLON LIMITED is said to have charitable or not-for-profit registration in multiple jurisdictions, including Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Sri Lanka.
The WhatsApp communication also said that following a review by the Trek4Ceylon board of directors, St Luke’s Methodist Mission Hospital in Puttur had been approved as the main recipient of the 2025 fundraising campaign.
The hospital was described as being more than 124 years old and in urgent need of financial support, with a lack of medical funding said to have left it on the brink of closure and unable to meet the needs of the surrounding community.
It was further stated that, in consultation with the hospital’s medical board, a five-year-plus restoration plan was being developed in order to restore the hospital to a sustainable level of operation.
The communication invited supporters to join the effort and noted that a new website, www.trek4ceylon.com
, would be operational shortly, adding that British, Australian, and Canadian donors would be entitled to a tax rebate.
In a further notable assertion, the same communication stated that Ride4Ceylon is registered as a brand name of Trek4Ceylon Limited in certain jurisdictions and would organise local events accordingly.
T4C Expands Its Public Position
Another message, attributed to Siva Sharma, Director of T4C, announced:
“TREK4CEYLON LIMITED is now a registered charity.”
That communication stated that Trek4Ceylon’s mission was to improve Sri Lanka’s medical establishment through fundraising, with funds being directed to hospitals, clinics, and rehabilitation centres islandwide. It also said the organisation was prepared to support other countries and communities where needed, maintaining a focus on helping the less privileged.
The message added that Trek4Ceylon intended to raise revenue through multiple activities, including treks, marathons, and cycling events, and also announced participation by a Trek4Ceylon UK team in the British Red Cross “Walk for Humanity” event held in London.
This was presented as both a fundraising opportunity and a way to expand public participation and strengthen community engagement around T4C’s charitable mission.
Fundraising Claims Following the 2025 Event
After the Trek for Ceylon charity cycle ride 2025 in aid of St Luke’s Methodist Mission Hospital, Puttur, another message circulated in which David Rasiah expressed thanks to supporters and volunteers.
He stated that the 2025 charity cycle ride had now concluded and thanked the ride chair, local and overseas riders, the new brand ambassador, marshals, helpers, sponsors, and partners who had joined T4C during the year.
Rasiah said the effort had been a substantial one and announced that, together with supporters and donors, Trek for Ceylon had so far raised more than £130,000, approximately Rs. 48 million, in cash and goods for the hospital.
He added that further donations could still be made through the JustGiving link and thanked donors for being part of something special.
Courtroom Clash in 2026
By early 2026, tensions had fully erupted into litigation.
With Rasiah organising Trek for Ceylon in February 2026, and the Arnold brothers preparing to hold a Ride for Ceylon event in March 2026, the clash appeared inevitable.
Rasiah moved first and filed action in the Provincial High Court of the Western Province in Colombo, securing an enjoining order on 10 March 2026.
That order reportedly:
restrained the defendants from using the name Ride for Ceylon in Sri Lanka without Rasiah’s consent
prohibited the use of the associated logo or any similar branding
In effect, the brand itself was frozen by legal order.
A Battle Over More Than a Name
Rasiah later claimed in public communications that he had been forced into litigation after receiving what he described as “intemperate letters and threats” from the other side.
He also alleged that a cease-and-desist letter from lawyers representing the Friends of Manipay Hospital had attempted to prevent his use of the Trek for Ceylon name, which he described as baseless and provocative.
In a deeply personal claim, Rasiah also said that the name Ride for Ceylon had been coined by his wife after the tragic loss of their daughter Gabriella, giving the dispute an emotional layer beyond the legal arguments.
He maintained that no one could use the name Ride for Ceylon in Sri Lanka without his consent, even while saying he remained open to settlement discussions.
The Community Splits
As the case intensified, the impact became visible within the cycling community itself.
The February 2026 Trek for Ceylon ride reportedly drew many riders who had previously taken part in Ride for Ceylon, suggesting that loyalties within the charity movement had already begun shifting even before the court action.
What had once been a united group bound by a shared cause now appeared openly fractured.
A Tamil-speaking voice in the video claims that the Trek for Ceylon charity ride 2026 had raised more than €200,000.
Defiance and Symbolism
In one of the most dramatic twists, the Arnold brothers reportedly pressed ahead with their planned March 2026 Ride for Ceylon event despite the existence of the court order.
But that decision came at a price.
Because they were unable to legally use the brand, organisers were reportedly forced to cover Ride for Ceylon logos on jerseys and remove or conceal branding from promotional material and advertisements.
That image, a ride stripped of its own identity, captured in symbolic form just how far the conflict had gone.
Final Word
At its core, this is no longer just a disagreement over a cycling event or a charity name.
It is a widening battle over ownership, identity, legacy, financial control, organisational authority, and trust.
Most tragically of all, the healthcare causes that once united these individuals now risk being completely overshadowed by legal confrontation and internal division.
Ride for Ceylon once inspired people to pedal for something bigger than themselves. Today, that legacy lies tangled in court papers, WhatsApp announcements, organisational restructuring, and allegations that threaten to permanently scar the movement.
As this case continues through the Sri Lankan courts, one question hangs heavily over all involved:
Can Ride for Ceylon ever move forward again, or has the damage already gone too far?
