Maldive Gas initiates legal action to recover ‘lost’ advance payment for gas shipment

Maldive Gas says it is pursuing legal action to recover the money it paid to a foreign company last year as an advance to import a shipment of gas.

News that the state-run company “lost” an advance payment it made in October last year for a shipment of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) it never received broke on Wednesday after the issue was raised by Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim during a meeting of the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.

However, he did not specify the amount paid as an advance, nor did he name the foreign company in question.

An official from Maldive Gas said on Thursday that the company had paid 30 percent of the total value of the gas shipment as an advance to the supplier. The official said the company asked the supplier to repay the money after they failed to make the delivery by the deadline.

“As the supplier failed to repay the advance payment despite repeated talks, this company initiated the processes needed to take legal action. This company’s legal team is engaged in efforts to recover the advance payment,” said the official.

The official did not say how much the company paid as an advance.

The case is the subject of a money laundering investigation by both the police and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). However, neither of the institutions have said when they opened their investigations.

A credible source from within the police told Sun that the police investigation had begun before news of the incident hit mainstream media on Wednesday. However, the source did not specify exactly when the police launched its investigation.

Maldive Gas is a subsidiary of the State Trading Organization (STO). It is currently run by Abdulla Mohamed, a former school teacher-turned-politician.

When asked for a comment, Abdulla told Sun on Thursday morning that he is currently overseas on an official visit, and is scheduled to return to Male’ on Sunday.

He declined to comment on the allegations.

Maldive Gas has been repeatedly hit with allegations of corruption and bribery since its inception.

During former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s administrations, company officials were accused of stealing from oxygen cylinders procured for public hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Abdulla Maumoon, who served as the managing director of Maldive Gas during former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s administration, is currently on trial for seven counts of bribery after an ACC investigation uncovered that he and his family members received bribes from 3DH International – one of the company’s suppliers.

Investigators traced money transfers totaling USD 298,403.5 Maumoon’s own back account, as well as that of his family members and associated businesses.