No leniency in expatriate issues, will even sue to recover fees: Minister Ihusaan

Minister of Homeland Security and Technology Ali Ihusaan stated that no special considerations would be made in publishing the names of parties who fail to pay expatriate work permit and quota fees and in taking action against them.

Speaking with Mihaaru News, Minister Ihusaan said that the government would even resort to legal action to recover the funds. He added that, after working in the private sector, he assumed leadership of one of the busiest ministries in the country with a full understanding of the challenges involved. He expressed his commitment to finding solutions to the problems and assured that nothing would be left unaddressed.

Minister Ihusaan further added that President Dr Mohamed Muizzu pledged to not give into the influence of anyone when resolving the issues in this sector, and that he will follow in that path and take necessary action without discrimination.

"The law is the law. Regardless of who it is," he said.

The Ministry shared the names of parties who have failed to pay their dues, and some of the names include senior officials of the current government's coalition as well as influential businesses.

The minister said that these parties were given a deadline until last Thursday to pay their fees, and that publishing the list was the second step towards recovering the funds. He also said that additional action would be taken if necessary.

Minister Ihusaan detailed that some of the companies on the list are suspected to be involved in human trafficking and that those cases will be forwarded to Maldives Police Service for further investigation.

He went on to say that such parties normally have indicators such as an unusual amount of reports of missing expatriates on their watch as well as unpaid fees. Based on these indicators, the ministry is now conducting verification processes and will forward cases which warrant further investigation to to the police, he said.

According to the list published by the ministry, 1,026 parties have not paid their work permit and quota fees, with the total dues adding up to over MVR 636 million.

He said that some of these companies also include companies which the government has to pay for after implementing various government projects. As such, settlement agreements will be signed with those companies after consulting with the Finance Ministry to alleviate the payments if possible, he said.

Minister Ihusaan added that many companies intentionally refuse to pay the fees. In response, he warned that services currently provided to these parties will be cut off, and measures will be tightened to prevent them from receiving any further services related to expatriates.

"We will implement the next order of business or the next actions," he said.

"The fourth stage is to file cases in court after denying permission in expatriate-related matters," he said.