CIABOC withdraws corruption cases against Minister Fernando, two others

… reserves right to file fresh charges with approval from commissioners

The Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court yesterday released Minister Johnston Fernando and two others from a corruption case filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).

CIABOC had filed cases against Minister Fernando, former Lak Sathosa Chairman Eraj Fernando and the Minister’s former Private Secretary Raj Mohideen Mohammad Sakeer over the deployment of 153 Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) workers for electoral activities in 2010 and 2014 election seasons. These deployments cost the state Rs. 40 million, it was alleged.

The CIABOC yesterday told Colombo Chief Magistrate Buddhika Sri Ragala that they had decided to withdraw the cases. However, CIABOC said it reserved the right to file fresh charges with the written sanction of the commissioners of the Bribery Commission. The CIABOC investigators had not obtained the approval from three commissioners before filing the cases.

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.