Former Minister Johnston Fernando has been granted bail regarding a case involving an illegally assembled luxury vehicle discovered in a Colombo hotel parking lot. The Fort Magistrate’s Court released him on five sureties of Rs. 5 million each.
Fernando was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on October 23 after providing a statement about the vehicle. The investigation began after hotel officials reported a black BMW, license plate WP C 24-0430, parked at their facility a day before the Presidential Election. During questioning, the individual who parked the car confirmed it belonged to Fernando and was delivered by his driver. While the CID found several documents linked to Fernando inside the BMW, there were no registration documents for the vehicle.
Cross-referencing the vehicle’s garage number with the Motor Traffic Department revealed it was registered under a private firm in Nawala. Further inspections by Sri Lanka Customs indicated that the vehicle had not been legally imported. Additionally, the Government Analysts Department confirmed that the BMW was illegally assembled. Police investigations revealed the vehicle was likely stolen from England, with connections to a similar luxury car reported missing in 2021, based on chassis and engine numbers.
