Police case filed against Dubai firm over pandemic ventilator purchase

The parliament's public accounts committee has lodged a criminal investigation against Dubai-based Executors General Trading for failing to pay MVR 32 million to the Maldives government, despite an arbitration order.

In a letter sent to Commissioner of Police Ali Shujau on March 11, the committee asked to launch an investigation against the company by fulfilling all the requirements of the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act and other necessary requirements, highlighting that the investigation is against a foreign company.

In its letter, the committee said that the case should be classified as a case of non-delivery of goods after receiving the value of the goods by deceit.

As the parliament pushes to launch the criminal investigation, Attorney General Ahmed Usham said on March 6 last year that the government started filing the case in Dubai courts to recover the money from Executors General. He also said that the company's location was unknown even during arbitration, and that they had not filed any statements at the time either.

“Given the way things have gone in this case so far, it is very unlikely [to get the money], but we will do whatever it takes to get the funds,” Usham said.

However, little has been revealed about the case since.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Maldives' health ministry commissioned Executors General Trading to procure 75 ventilators. However, the country did not receive many of the machines despite the government paying MVR 37 million without any guarantees. The case was then escalated to arbitration, which ordered the company to pay USD 1.8 million to the government as well as a further USD 233,750 as liquidated damage

Reports at the time said that the ministry failed to ensure whether the company had the capacity to supply the ventilators. Audit reports and the Anti Corruption Commission's investigations revealed that the company's details were also not clarified.

Although Executors sent some ventilators in its first shipment, they were unusable. After the company failed to send the remaining ventilators, the government requested the company to return the payment. However, that never happened.

At the time, ACC sent the case to the Prosecutor General's Office seeking prosecution against the then Health Minister Abdulla Ameen and some ministry staff. Although ACC, under the Prevention and Prohibition of Corruption Act, sought for criminal charges, it was decided that evidence was lacking to prove a criminal offence.