Johnston, son face charges over providing Sathosa driver to family company

By Roshan Thushara 

Colombo, January 6 (Daily Mirror) - Former Minister Johnston Fernando and his son, Jerome Kenneth Fernando, face charges of abetting the criminal misuse of government property and misappropriation of government funds. The case, reported yesterday (05), involves allegations that they provided a Sathosa lorry and driver to transport ethanol to a private company of which the sons were directors. They were remanded in custody until January 9 by Wattala Magistrate Kanchana Silva.

Johnston Fernando, who was the Minister of Cooperatives and Internal Trade and who aided and abetted the incident by issuing letters to the Chairman of Sathosa requesting a job appointment for the lorry driver, was remanded in custody, as was Jerome Kenneth Fernando, who was a director of a company that allegedly imported ethanol and manufactured alcohol by presenting false information that it was producing perfumes.

The Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID), which produced the suspects before the court, submitted a further investigation report stating that the suspect, as the Minister in charge, had issued letters requesting that the driver, who has not yet been arrested, be given a job appointment.

The suspects were arrested and produced before the court on charges of misappropriating government funds by paying the driver's salary from government funds, criminal misappropriation of government property, and aiding and abetting the preparation of forged documents, while giving the relevant lorry to the private company in question, with notes stating that it would be used for ministry duties.

The police presented evidence to the court stating that seven suspects, including Johnston Fernando, have been named. The driver of the lorry, Saman Withana, has not been arrested as he is absconding.

The director of the private company named as the first suspect in this complaint has been released on bail after being produced in court. Jerome Fernando, the son of Johnston Fernando, who was arrested and produced in court on the 31st, along with former Sathosa Executive Director Mohammad Zakir and former Sathosa Operations and Transport Manager Indika Ratnamalala, have been remanded until the 9th.

The FCID is conducting this investigation on charges of criminal misappropriation of state property by using vehicles and drivers belonging to Lanka Sathosa for personal purposes, deceiving state officials to obtain licenses to import ethanol under the pretext of producing perfumes and cleaning agents, and defrauding the government of tax revenue by producing alcohol from the imported ethanol.

The police submitted to the court that these investigations were initiated following an anonymous complaint received by the FCID on November 12, 2015, alleging that a private company in the Wattala area was importing ethanol by submitting false information.

The police presented evidence stating that although it was claimed ethanol was imported for the production of cleaning agents and perfumes, the company in question had not produced such products.

It was revealed that a Sathosa lorry and a driver named S. Withana were used on June 8, 2012, to transport 20,000 litres of ethanol, and that fuel for the lorry had been provided by Sathosa.

The police stated that the private company had not made any payment for the lorry and that false information had been submitted claiming the lorry was used to transport goods from Kilinochchi to Colombo on behalf of Sathosa during the relevant period.

The police requested that the suspects be remanded in custody as further investigations are ongoing under the Public Property Act.

President's Counsel Sampath Mendis and Senior Counsel Lakmal Ratnayake, representing the suspects, stated in court that their clients had been arrested without evidence.

They pointed out that simply advertising a job appointment does not constitute evidence of abetment, and that holding the position of director of a company does not constitute abetting.

They therefore requested that their clients be released on bail or removed from the case due to lack of evidence.

The Magistrate, after considering the facts presented by both parties, ordered the suspects to be remanded until January 9, as no specific facts had been presented to grant bail in connection with the investigation under the Public Property Act.

She also ordered that progress on the investigation be presented to the court on that day.