PCR test corruption during pandemic being reinvestigated jointly with the police

Authorities have resumed an investigation into the case involving gaining an undue profit to one’s self and a third party when procuring reagents used for PCR testing for Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) sought charges against three former senior officials at IGMH – former Chairperson of the Procurement Committee, member of the Medical Executive Committee and members of the Technical Advisory Committee Dr. Ali Abdul Latheef, former CEO Ibrahim Saleem and former Head of Laboratory Dr. Milza Abdul Muhsin – over the alleged corruption back in August of last year.

Speaking with Sun on Sunday, ACC’s Spokesperson said a new investigation has been launched with respect to the case, adding it is a joint investigation between the Commission, Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) and Maldives Police Service.

The Commission requested the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG Office) to charge all three former IGMH officials with misuse of official capacity under the Penal Code for providing an illicit benefit to a third party with self-interest and gaining an illicit benefit by allegedly allowing, a private company, RMLS Lab Services, to have access to the reagents used for PCR testing at the IGMH laboratory during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to this, ACC said investigations suggest that Dr. Latheef and RMLS Lab Services, a company where he has a self-interest, had committed money laundering. As such, the Commission said it had filed a separate case with the Police to investigate Dr. Latheef and RMLS Lab Services for money laundering.  

ACC also revealed they had requested Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) to review Dr. Latheef’s tax documents as the Commission’s investigations suggest he may have misled his finances in the documents.

The COVID-19 pandemic saw other corruption cases come to light from the health sector as well. One such case involved an MVR 34.50 million contract awarded by the Health Ministry to Executors General Trading to procure 75 ventilators in 2020.

Executors General Trading only delivered 15 ventilators, and while the Health Ministry paid MVR 30.91 million, which made for 90 percent of the total payment, to the company as an advance, without obtaining an advance guarantee or a performance guarantee.