Suspension of MIFCO CEO extended

The unpaid suspension of Ahmed Samah Rasheed, the chief executive officer of Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO), has been extended.

Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB), following the expiration of his two-week suspension on Sunday, informed him of their decision to extend his suspension till April 21^st.

Samah was suspended on March 18^th.

In a press statement regarding his suspension, PCB, citing it was conducting an inquiry in response to a corporate governance-related complaint filed against Samah, said they have therefore decided to suspend him for 14 days in order to accommodate a full inquiry.

At a meeting of the Parliament’s State-owned Enterprises (SOE) Committee last week, Dhaandhoo MP Yaugoob Abdulla proposed summoning both Samah and members of the PCB for questioning regarding the matter.

The motion was seconded by Central Maafannu MP Ibrahim Rasheed (Bonde), who said that it is imperative that the committee ascertain Samah wasn’t suspended for efforts to combat corruption.

A previous letter sent by the PCB to Samah, which leaked over social media, highlighted 12 main allegations; including nepotism in the hiring process and misuse of company resources for political purposes.

However, the PCB has not made an official comment regarding the leaked letter.