Former Minister Johnston Fernando has been banned from traveling abroad following a court order from the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court. The travel ban stems from an investigation into an illegally assembled and unregistered BMW that was discovered in the parking lot of the Hilton Hotel in Colombo.
The Group Robbery Investigation Division presented details to the court on October 10 regarding a suspicious black BMW bearing the garage number “WP C 24-0430.” The investigation, led by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Rohan Premaratne of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), was triggered after a tip-off about the car, which had been parked at the Hilton since before the most recent presidential election.
The hotel’s security manager confirmed to the investigators that the car had been parked by a long-term guest, Gamini Abeyratne, just before the election. Abeyratne claimed the car belonged to Johnston Fernando and had been delivered by one of Fernando’s drivers, who promised to return and collect the vehicle at a later date. Despite this, the car remained in the hotel’s parking lot, drawing suspicion.
When the CID officers examined the BMW, they found several documents inside the car, including papers linked to Fernando, but none that verified the vehicle’s legal registration. Further investigations revealed irregularities with the car’s identification, starting with the garage number, which was found to belong to a private company based in Nawala. The owner of the company had earlier reported the number plate as stolen, after it had gone missing during a visit to a private radio station he owned.
The CID then ran a check on the car’s chassis number, WBA5E52010G115194, through Sri Lankan Customs. The customs database revealed that no vehicle corresponding to that chassis number had ever been legally imported into Sri Lanka. This led to the conclusion that the BMW had been illegally assembled within the country.
In addition, the CID discovered that the car had been using a number plate registered to another vehicle. The car bore the number “KM 5421,” which was assigned to a separate vehicle registered to one of Fernando’s hotels in Colombo. The use of a false number plate added to the evidence that the BMW was operating illegally.
Officers from the Department of Motor Vehicles’ Technical Inspection Unit were called in to conduct a detailed examination of the car. Their report confirmed that the BMW was an illegally assembled vehicle. The car’s assembly had bypassed official import channels and taxes, a significant violation of Sri Lankan law.
During court proceedings, CID investigators outlined the various infractions committed in relation to the car: tax evasion by smuggling an unregistered vehicle into the country, the use of a fake and stolen number plate, and the illegal assembly of a luxury vehicle. The evidence pointed directly to Fernando’s involvement in these offenses.
Considering the CID’s findings, the court issued a foreign travel ban against Johnston Fernando. Fort Magistrate Tanuja Lakmali granted the CID’s request to restrict Fernando’s movements while further investigations are underway. The former minister is now prohibited from leaving the country as authorities continue to probe his role in the illegal importation and assembly of the BMW.
This development adds to the growing legal troubles faced by Fernando, who has been under scrutiny for various allegations over the years. The CID is expected to continue gathering evidence to build a comprehensive case against him.
