High Court judge Nawaratne Marasinghe fixed the case for pre-trial to be heard on November 24.
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 unlawful loss of Rs. 1.1 million to the government by employing the employees of the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) for election work during the period 2013.
The Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption filed this corruption case against 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 2013–2014, while Minister Johnston Fernando was serving as the Cooperative and Internal Trade Minister.