ACC investigates POLCO's Hulhumalé housing project over corruption claims

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has said they are conducting an expedited investigation into allegations that POLCO, the Police Welfare Company, constructed flats in Hulhumalé in a way that benefited certain individuals.

According to an audit report released last Thursday by the Auditor General's Office, MVR 1 billion has been spent on the flats so far, and the project has resulted in a loss of MVR 355 million.

The report states that significant changes were made multiple times to agreements with contractors during the project's implementation. The report also indicates that instead of paying contractors for completed work, payments were made under various pretexts.

The audit recommended referring the case to ACC and other investigative authorities to identify and take action against all parties involved, as these transactions appear to have been conducted to provide unfair advantages to contractors or certain individuals.

An ACC official told 'Mihaaru' that they are treating this as a priority case. The official said they cannot provide additional details as it is an ongoing investigation.

While this is being investigated as a priority case, Prosecutor General (PG) Abbas Shareef has issued an order to expedite ACC investigations due to complaints about delays in their investigations.

The audit report stated that project completion was delayed and actions were taken that directly benefited contractors while causing losses to the state. The audit office also recommended holding POLCO board directors and executives accountable for failing to oversee and take action regarding these issues.

The Police Housing Project, Blues Housing, which began on June 23, 2013, was initially awarded to a company called Noomadi. The project was implemented on a contractor-finance basis with Noomadi, which was operating in the Maldives at the time. However, Noomadi's agreement was terminated on January 27, 2016, due to political challenges and financial difficulties.

The project was then taken over by Island Experts. However, when the company went bankrupt during COVID and couldn't continue the project, that agreement was terminated. Afterwards, Amin Construction worked on the flats. Although the project was supposed to be completed in 2022, the deadline was later extended.

Police officers have been living in the 361 three-bedroom flats built under this project since last year.