Maldives recovers over MVR 1b in unpaid expat fees
The list, which included employers with outstanding payments exceeding MVR 100,000, was made public on July 24.
Homeland security minister Ali Ihsan on Tuesday announced the recovery of over MVR 1 billion following the release of a list of employers who failed to pay the fees of expatriate workers.
This recovery comes out of a total of more than MVR 1.7 billion in unpaid fees.
The list, which included employers with outstanding payments exceeding MVR 100,000, was made public on July 24.
Speaking at a press conference at the President's Office, Ihsan provided updates on the progress of the recovery efforts.
The minister explained that employers on the list have been blocked from accessing the expat system, effectively halting services to them until payments are made.
“Once the payments are settled, the services will be restored,” he said.
The ministry had previously issued a two-week notice to employers with unpaid fees, urging them to settle the amounts before the list was made public.
In a related move, the Labour Relations Authority has recently been brought under the jurisdiction of the homeland security ministry. This decision was made to enhance efforts in addressing issues related to illegal immigrants in the Maldives.
