Former Minister Johnston Fernando has informed the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court that he pleads guilty to charges of possessing a luxury BMW vehicle imported into Sri Lanka without paying the required taxes and committing tax fraud.
According to reports, Fernando conveyed his position to the court through his lawyers in connection with the luxury vehicle that was found abandoned at a private hotel in Colombo.
The former minister was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on October 23 after recording a statement regarding the vehicle and was subsequently remanded.
The CID launched an investigation after receiving information about a black BMW bearing registration number WP C 24-0430, which had reportedly been parked at a hotel in Colombo a day before the Presidential Election.
Investigations revealed that the individual who had parked the vehicle had informed Police that it belonged to Johnston Fernando and had been brought to the hotel by his driver.
During an inspection of the vehicle, CID officers recovered several documents belonging to Fernando but found no documents relating to the vehicle’s registration.
Further investigations revealed that the registration number displayed on the BMW had been issued to a private company based in Nawala.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Customs confirmed that a vehicle bearing the BMW’s chassis number had not been legally imported into the country.
A subsequent examination conducted by the Government Analyst’s Department revealed that the vehicle had been illegally assembled.
Police investigations also uncovered possible links between the BMW and a luxury vehicle reported stolen in England in 2021.
According to Police, the vehicle had originally been manufactured in Germany and sold to a buyer in England, while its chassis and engine numbers were found to have links to the vehicle reported stolen in the United Kingdom. (Newswire)