Another Rajapaksa loyalist held for fraud in Lanka

A former senior minister and close aide of ex-Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been arrested for fraud, police said on Tuesday.

The Colombo chief magistrate ordered that Johnston Fernando be remanded until tomorrow?and be produced before a magistrate at Kurunegala, his northwestern provincial base.

Fernando was arrested by police’s Financial Crime Investigation Unit (FCIU) over alleged financial impropriety at the state wholesale entity Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) during Rajapaksa’s rule. As minister of trade, Fernando was supervising CWE functions in the Rajapaksa cabinet.

Several bigwigs and aides of Rajapaksa are under the scanner for alleged financial fraud since their leader was defeated by current President Maithripala Sirisena in the presidential election held in January.