Maldives to seek Interpol notice on Dubai ventilator supplier

Authorities have requested the police to obtain an Interpol Red Notice against the owner of Executors General Trading, a Dubai-based company that failed to deliver ventilators to the Maldives during the COVID-19 pandemic despite receiving an advance payment.

An audit report revealed that in April 2020, the Ministry of Health entered into an agreement with the company to procure 75 ventilators. An advance payment of MVR 30.91 million was made without a performance guarantee.

During Monday's meeting of the Parliament’s Finance Committee, members noted that efforts to recover the funds lost in the ventilator case under the previous administration have not yielded results. Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim stated that the identity and whereabouts of the company’s owner remain unknown, which has stalled recovery efforts.

“There is no way to get the money by going to civil arbitration. It has been a year since the arbitration ruling. The person cannot be found. Where he is is unknown. He cannot be contacted,” said Nazim.

Nazim added that if the individual is apprehended following the issuance of a Red Notice, it may become possible to trace the funds and determine if payments were redirected to other parties. He noted that the police have now been advised by the Prosecutor General to investigate the case as one of fraud.

The government has since decided to reopen the investigation into the ventilator procurement case.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had earlier forwarded a chargesheet involving 11 officials from the Ministry of Health, including former Health Minister Abdulla Ameen. However, the Prosecutor General’s Office declined to proceed with the case due to insufficient evidence.

In February 2023, an arbitration centre ordered Executors General Trading to pay MVR 34 million in compensation to the Maldivian government. The ruling was issued in the company’s absence.