20 companies on expatriate debt list pay fees, govt says
The 20 companies have paid the amount owed to the state to date, the Home Ministry said in its statement.
By
Aishath Fareeha Abdulla
The Home Ministry has acknowledged on Thursday evening that companies that have paid fees related to expatriates regularly have been made public along with the companies that are not paying fees.
The Home Ministry, which deals with expatriate affairs, announced on Thursday evening the names of 20 companies that were previously announced as companies that do not pay fees.
The Home Ministry said the companies pay fees to the state regularly through the Expat system. The companies are:
-
Alia Construction
-
Angiri Resorts
-
Brennia Maldives
-
Chicano Investments
-
East Coast Investment
-
Former Thimarafushi MP Abdulla Riza's security company Gage
-
Heavy Force
-
Horizon Fisheries exports fish
-
International Beverages Company, which produces Life Water, which is owned by Home Minister Ali Ihsan's family company Happy Market
-
Mahogany Pvt
-
Hanimaadhoo MP Abdul Ghafoor Moosa’s Pestax Maldives
-
Pristine Island Investment
-
Redwave, owned by PNC MP Ahmed Saleem
-
Renatus, an Indian company building flats in Hulhumale
-
Seagull Group
-
SK Maldives
-
The Hawks
-
Universal Group, which runs resorts
-
Villa Hakatha and Villa Shipping
The companies have paid the amount owed to the state to date, the Home Ministry said in its statement.
"However, the names of these persons were included in the announcement issued on July 24 because the amount of fees payable to the state at that time exceeded MVR 100,000," the Home Ministry said in the announcement.
The Homeland Security Ministry in June ordered employers to pay more than MVR 1.7 billion within two weeks for permits issued to foreigners working in Maldives.
The names of those who did not pay the fees were published in July.
The homeland ministry had on Wednesday said that after releasing the list of employers who had defaulted on the fees of migrant workers, they had paid MVR 183 million as on 13 August out of the outstanding amount.
