Parliament's Public Accounts Committee has decided to summon board members of the state-owned State Trading Organization (STO) to address allegations of corruption in fuel services provided by its subsidiary, Fuel Supply Maldives (FSM).
During a committee meeting discussing a special audit report on diesel procurement by Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) between 2018 and 2019, Deputy Speaker and Dhigurah MP Ahmed Nazim said that there is ongoing fuel theft.
He highlighted the probe into FSM employees accused of stealing company fuel and laundering the funds. Minister of Homeland, Security, and Technology said that police investigations into the matter are underway.
Nazim revealed information suggesting a significant misappropriation of MVR 50 million within FSM, revealed by the STO board's audit committee.
“This [fuel theft] is orchestrated from the lower levels all the way up to management,” Nazim said.
He also highlighted the rising corruption in state-owned enterprises and said that private companies are allegedly required to pay bribes to secure government projects.
Nazim proposed summoning the STO board members and its audit committee to clarify the issue. His proposal was unanimously approved by the committee members present.
Additionally, the committee approved the summoning of MPL’s board and relevant officials to provide updates on measures taken to recover funds lost in connection with the oil scam and corruption identified in the audit.
The 2018-2020 report by the Audit Office revealed fuel fraud of MVR 28 million within MPL. Over three years, MPL spent MVR 90 million on purchasing 8.8 million liters of fuel, with 30 percent of the total expenditure being fraudulent.
Further, MPL’s special audit report on the 2017 "Hiyaa" housing project identified multiple issues, including the lack of a feasibility study, insufficient time for proposal submissions, undercharged performance security, and inadequate allocation for painting under variation.
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