Former Minister Johnston Fernando was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) today (Oct 23) for the illegal possession of an unregistered luxury BMW vehicle. The car was recently found suspiciously parked at a star-class hotel in Colombo.
Fernando had arrived at the CID earlier in the day to provide a statement regarding the vehicle. Yesterday (Oct 22), a petition filed by Fernando seeking to prevent his arrest was considered by the court. His attorneys informed the court that he would appear before the CID to give a statement.
In a separate legal matter, the Colombo High Court also issued an arrest warrant for Fernando today. He is facing charges for allegedly using 153 employees of ‘Lanka Sathosa’ for political work during his tenure as Minister of Co-operatives Internal Trade between 2010 and 2014. The misuse of government employees reportedly resulted in a loss of Rs. 40 million to the government.
The warrant was issued after Fernando failed to appear in court for the case. His attorney explained to the court that Fernando was at the CID at the time, providing a statement concerning the unregistered luxury vehicle.
