The Parliament’s Judiciary Committee, on Thursday, voted on requesting Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem to review the decision to not press charges against the suspects involved in the questionable procurement of 75 ventilators for Maldives’ COVID-19 response.
The PG Office rejected the cases forwarded by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) against former Minister of Health Abdulla Ameen and 11 employees of the ministry, stating that the evidence against them were insufficient.
However, ACC requested PG Office to review the case, asserting that there was enough evidence to prove that the state suffered losses due to the suspects using their position of power in the ventilator procurement.
The Parliament Committee made a decision over the matter following a request lodged by the Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed to look into the dispute between the PG Office and ACC.
After probing the issue, the committee prepared a report highlighting five main points, backing up their request for PG Office to review its decision.
The committee’s report noted that the investigation revealed that the Health Ministry had carried out the procurement process in ways that would enable corruption instead of choosing the options which would ensure that state funds were not misused.
In addition, the committee supported ACC’s statement that no Article of the Public Finance Act can be misconstrued to contradict with its purpose, which is to ensure rightful spending of state funds.
The report also noted the lack of information about Maldives Police Service’s contribution to the case, since ACC had conducted a joint investigation into the ventilator controversy with the police.
Referring to the aforementioned points, the Judiciary Committee requested PG Office to collect additional information about the case, review it and inform the committee of the final decision.
The joint-report prepared by ACC and the police confirmed that the violations listed in the audit report, regarding the procurement of ventilators by the Auditor General’s Office, took place.
The investigation was launched after the Auditor General's Office published a compliance audit on the Ministry of Health's COVID-19 expenditure, revealing that the ministry had spent over MVR 30 million in violation of the Public Finance Act.
As part of the government's COVID-19 response efforts, the health ministry had signed agreements with Naadu Pvt Ltd to procure 24 ventilators and MedTech Maldives Pvt Ltd to secure 50 ventilators, in addition to the 75 ventilators from Dubai-based Executors General Trading LLC.
The audit report alleged that the health ministry's negotiations with Executors were rife with corruption, including false claims that the order was placed following a recommendation by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The state has already paid MVR 30.9 million in advance for the 75 ventilators, covering 90 percent of the total cost of MVR 34 million.
The report compiled by ACC stated that the bid committee did not conduct due diligence concerning Executors General Trading since then-Minister Ameen had presented the company as having been recommended by WHO. The report added that advance payment was made to the Dubai-based company using false documentation concerning the receipt of 65 mechanical ventilators and 10 portable ventilators, despite the fact that the goods were not sent to Maldives.
The audit report also revealed that agreements with local companies Naadu Pvt Ltd and MedTech Maldives were formulated in a manner damaging to the state and seemingly, deliberately steered towards enriching certain entities.
Furthermore, while all three companies failed to procure the equipment before the specified deadline, 10 ventilators provided by Executors did not meet standards stipulated in the agreements and subsequently could not be used to treat COVID-19 patients.
However, in the document sent to the bid committee members following the conclusion of the investigation, ACC stated that the suppliers were provided extensions on reasonable grounds, considering the situation at the time.
Noting that the Health Ministry had provided extensions on many of the procurement deals signed during that time period, ACC added that Maldives' borders were closed when the extensions were granted to the suppliers, although the initial agreements were signed before border closing.
Naadu Pvt Ltd and MedTech Maldives have now delivered all the ventilators the government procured from them.
After being summoned to the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, the then-minister and other staff maintained that they had operated in line with the Public Finance Act and relevant procedures to procure the ventilators, asserting that nothing was done to facilitate corruption or illicit enrichment for any entities.
Sign In