Zetta denies fraud in Police body-cam procurement

Zetta Enterprises and Zetta Technologies, through their lawyers, have issued a statement denying any wrongdoing, misrepresentation, or irregularity in the 2022 procurement of body-worn cameras for the Maldives Police Service (MPS).

The statement, released by the lawyers on Thursday, asserted that comments made about the companies during a subcommittee meeting of the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday were misleading and distorted the facts.

The statement clarified that the initial tender for 1,400 body-worn cameras sought by the police under the Single Source Procurement method was not awarded to Zetta Enterprises primarily because the Tender Board did not agree with the use of the Single Source method itself.

The lawyers disputed the claim made by the Subcommittee Chair and Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, Dhangethi MP Ahmed Nazim that the work was awarded to Zetta Technologies, which includes the same shareholders, because Zetta Enterprises "did not qualify."

The statement countered that Zetta Enterprises had submitted all required documents for the tender and demonstrated the necessary financial and technical capacity. Their proposal also included a financially favorable 5-year payment plan for the state.

Zetta Technologies won a subsequent open tender announced by the police for 200 body-worn cameras and completed the work under that agreement.

The lawyers emphasized: "The Anti-Corruption Commission concluded after investigating the matter that no corrupt acts occurred during the bidding and awarding process."

Zetta Technologies was awarded the contract for an additional 1,200 body-worn cameras on November 27, 2022, under the Single Source Procurement method after successfully bidding through it. The agreement was signed, and the work was completed.

The lawyers addressed the accusation that the work was carried out at a price higher than initially proposed, calling the claim misleading. They stated that neither company ever submitted a proposal listing the work's cost as MVR 48 million. The tender submitted by Zetta Technologies for the 1,200 body-worn cameras listed the price, including tax, as MVR 66.4 million. The statement confirms that this figure saw no changes before or after the agreement was signed.

The statement also noted that the Finance Subcommittee has so far not sought input from either Zetta Enterprises or Zetta Technologies during its investigation and review of the matter.

In the Finance Subcommittee, MP Nazim had previously stated that the timeline for the camera purchase was now very clear, asserting that it was evident that the project was transferred to a different company with the same shareholders after the first company, Zetta Enterprises, was deemed not to qualify.