Johnston remanded till 11 May, transferred to Colombo Prison

Thursday, 7 May 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Former Minister and UPFA Parliamentarian Johnston Fernando was yesterday transferred to the Colombo Remand Prison where he will be further remanded till 11 May. Fernando was arrested by the Financial Crimes Investigations Division (FCID) on 5 May over charges related to alleged irregularities in the purchase of items from the Co-operative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) also known as ‘Sathosa’. Subsequent to giving a statement to the FCID, Fernando was arrested and produced before Kurunegala Chief Magistrate Ravindra Premaratne who ordered that Fernando be remanded till 6 May. During his tenure as Cabinet Minister of Co-operatives and Internal Trade, Fernando is accused of having ordered the release of goods worth over Rs. 5.2 million from CWE warehouses in the Kurunegala District for which payments had never been made.