The Colombo High Court today (04) ordered that a case filed against former Minister Johnston Fernando and two others be taken up on July 07 for further hearing of evidence, Ada Derana reporter said.

The case has been filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), alleging that the trio incurred financial losses to the government by unlawfully engaging the employees of Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE/Lanka Sathosa) in political activities during Fernando’s tenure as the Minister of Cooperatives and Internal Trade.

The case was called today before Colombo High Court Judge Aditya Patabendige.

During the hearing, the accused, who are out on bail — former Minister Johnston Fernando, former Sathosa Chairman Eraj Fernando, and Mohamed Saakir, who served as the coordinating secretary of the former Minister— appeared before the court.
During the proceedings, the defense lawyers cross-examined Merinnage Costa, who was a payroll officer at Sathosa.

Following this, the bench postponed further hearing of the case until July 7 and issued summons instructing the witnesses to appear in court on that date.

The Attorney General has filed this case under Section 70 of the Bribery Act, alleging that between 2010 and 2014, while serving as the Minister of Trade, Johnston Fernando and the other two accused committed the offense of corruption by removing a group of Sathosa employees from their official duties and deploying them in political activities, thereby causing a loss to the government.