He said that a board decision was made during the previous administration to import gas via STO following incidents of corruption in earlier shipments. However, the decision was never implemented.
Maldive Gas Managing Director Abdulla Mohamed has said that State Trading Organization (STO) holds no responsibility in the procurement of gas, and all related processes are handled by Maldive Gas.
The clarification comes amid questions surrounding a refund of the payment of USD 240,000 (approximately MVR 3.7 million) made in advance to Dubai-based Jaksha Energy last October for a gas shipment that never arrived. Jaksha had failed to provide the goods to Maldive Gas, a subsidiary of STO.
“STO does not oversee every company or procurement we handle. Maldive Gas operates as an independent company,” Abdulla said.
He said that a board decision was made during the previous administration to import gas via STO following incidents of corruption in earlier shipments. However, the decision was never implemented.
“That has absolutely not happened since I took over,” Abdulla added.
The MVR 3.7 million paid to Jaksha Energy represented 30 percent of the total value of the shipment. Abdulla said that the transaction has undergone auditing and confirmed that no issues were found.
Jaksha Energy has reportedly said that it will return the advance payment before the end of this month.
Maldive Gas imports gas each month via international tender, using a locked-mail bidding system.
Sign In
