• The Bribery Commission alleged that the first accused Johnston Fernando had unlawfully employed Sathosa employees for election work during the period 2012

By Lakmal Sooriyagoda   

The Bribery Commission yesterday filed a fresh indictment against three accused including former Minister Johnston Fernando instead of the indictment withdrawn previously.   

On January 28, the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court had ordered to release Johnston Fernando and two others from corruption cases following the Bribery Commission’s decision to withdraw the indictments owing to a technical issue. The Bribery Commission yesterday filed a fresh indictment in the Colombo High Court with the written sanction of the Bribery Commission.  

The Bribery Commission filed this corruption case against former Minister Johnston Fernando, former CWE (Lak Sathosa) Chairman Eraj Fernando and former Minister’s Private Secretary Raj Mohideen Mohammad Sakeer for allegedly causing an Rs.8.4 million unlawful loss to the government by employing the employees of the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) for election work during the period 2012.  

The Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption filed these corruption cases against the three accused under Section 70 of the Bribery Act on four charges.  

The Bribery Commission alleged that the first accused Johnston Fernando had unlawfully employed Sathosa employees for election work during the period 2012, while Minister Johnston Fernando was serving as the Cooperative and Internal Trade Minister.