The power and responsibilities regarding the purchase of gas has been transferred to State Trading Organisation (STO) from its subsidiary Maldive Gas.
Maldives' main state-owned gas importer, Maldive Gas, had to transfer all gas purchasing powers to STO after the USD 240,000 (MVR 3.7 million) advance the company paid in October last year was "lost" through a Dubai-based company.
The issue came to light from a statement made by Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, and ruling party member Ahmed Nazim. He said although the "lost" funds have not yet been recovered, STO had taken action regarding the matter. However, the public accounts committee of the parliament will investigate the leadership of Maldive Gas, he warned.
Moving forward, all transactions related to gas orders and payments will then be handled by STO. The move was made to prevent similar incidents from repeating, Nazim said.
The issue occurred in October last year. According to reports, Maldive Gas was unable to resolve the situation and recover the payment despite STO providing the opportunity.
Nazim said Maldive Gas changed its regular supplier in October last year, and that the Dubai company was paid 30 percent of the total shipment price in advance.
He also revealed that Maldive Gas was unable to explain the reason for the supplier switch, and the then company's Managing Director Abdulla Mohamed was given the opportunity to recover the funds, which he had failed to do.
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