Court orders company to pay MVR 47 million over lost cigarettes

The Civil Court on Monday ordered Executive Enterprises to pay MVR 47 million to Maldives Customs Service for the loss of a large quantity of cigarettes stored in a bonded warehouse.

The ruling follows a case filed by Customs seeking MVR 47.2 million in duties and penalties after the loss of 34,500 cartons of cigarettes from two bonded warehouses last year. One of the warehouses was operated by Executive Enterprises.

The court ordered the payment to be made within 14 days in the presence of Executive Enterprises representatives.

According to the case documents, the missing goods from the bonded warehouse included:

Under Customs regulations, goods stored in bonded warehouses cannot be removed without proper authorisation and payment of duties. However, records showed that only 15 cases of Camel Yellow had been officially withdrawn.

Bonded warehouses are secured with two locks—one held by Customs and the other by the owner of the goods. The facilities may only be opened in the presence of both parties.

Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihsan previously stated that the case also involved allegations that the locks were changed or tampered with without Customs’ knowledge.

“We asked them to conduct an audit, but the owner did not cooperate. When we tried to inspect the warehouse, permission was not granted. We then spoke to the owner of the premises,” the minister said.

A second warehouse, owned by SGM Company, is also under investigation in a related case. Customs has claimed MVR 20.7 million from SGM, bringing the total value of both cases to MVR 68 million.