National archives file police complaint over FSM doc disposal

The National Archives, which is under the heritage ministry, has decided to file a complaint against the state-owned Fuel Supply Maldives (FSM) for allegedly destroying its documents without permission.

A video of FSM documents being dumped in K. Thilafushi and disposed of in a concrete mixing machine went viral on social media on Sunday. The company's employee, Ahmed Anees, who made the video, was also suspended from service on Sunday.

The head of the National Archives, Mohamed Amir Ahmed told reporters on Monday that the FSM had destroyed the documents without any notice to the agency. He said:

“Therefore, after consulting the minister, we decided to take the matter to the police,” Amir said.

Heritage's state minister Mohamed Thoriq tweeted on Monday that it was done in violation of the Archives Act.

In the tweet, which includes some provisions of the Act, Thorig asked the police to investigate the matter.

Supporting Thorig's tweet, heritage minister Yumna Maumoon said, "State documents should be destroyed in accordance with the Archives Act, under the direction of the Director General of the National Archives, in accordance with the Archives Act and Regulations”.

In response to the video of the documents being destroyed, the FSM media officer said that the destruction was of documents that had been stored for a very long time and were not required now.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has brought the matter to the attention of the police following complaints that government documents are being destroyed during the transition period. It said it would interfere with the investigations conducted by the commission.

Meanwhile, the Office of the President-Elect has earlier expressed concern over the alleged alteration and destruction of documents of some government agencies and companies during this transitional period.