Parliament's Public Finance Committee has instructed the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Maldives Police Service to take action over irregular promotions granted to Fenaka employees, following the committee's review of an audit report.

The committee passed the audit report, released by the Auditor General's Office late last year, and issued a series of recommendations based on its findings.

According to the report, a large number of employees were appointed to permanent positions without interviews, while around 1,300 employees were promoted between 2021 and 2023. Some employees received multiple promotions within the same year.

The committee directed the ACC and police to investigate the matter and submit monthly progress reports.

It also instructed the relevant authorities to investigate the payment of MVR 229,000 in salaries to employees recruited for in-house projects between 2021 and 2023. The committee requested updates on efforts to recover the funds, including how much has been recovered and how much remains outstanding.

Fenaka was also instructed to submit, within three months, details of measures being taken to reduce its workforce and cut operating costs. In addition, the committee asked the ACC to provide updates on the progress of corruption cases involving the company.

The committee further directed Fenaka to revise its recruitment rules to require all vacancies to be publicly advertised and to develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) with clearly defined recruitment and administrative processes.

The committee also recommended that Fenaka submit its salary structure and harmonized job classification framework to the Public Finance Committee within six months of the report's approval.

The audit report, published in October last year, found that the number of permanent and temporary employees at Fenaka increased by 78 percent over three years. Company records showed the workforce grew from about 3,500 employees in 2020 to around 7,000 by 2023.

The committee's directives come while former Fenaka Managing Director Ahmed Saeed Mohamed is serving a four-year prison sentence after being convicted of abuse of office. He is currently under house arrest on health grounds.