The two journalists in question are from a prominent newspaper company, report say.

Speaking to 'Sri Lanka Mirror', a ministry spokesman said that although taking along a wife on a foreign tour was not an issue at all, using sponsorship money to fulfil the wife's needs during the trip, was indeed an issue.

One of these two journalists have been granted over 1.5 million by Dialog Axiata.

One of them is a sports editor of an weekend English newspaper and he had supplied less than eight reports during his tour, reports say.

Meanwhile, another from a Sinhala newspaper who had gone to cover the World Cup had been accompanied by his mother, reports add.

Although the World Cup is over, all three journalists are yet to return to the country and it is said that the above mentioned English editor and his wife are to return only after the Sinhala and Tamil New year in mid April.