The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has resubmitted the corruption case involving 11 government officials in connection with the granting of a government contract to supply ventilators for COVID-19 patients, with new allegations.
The issue includes an MVR 34.50 million contract given by the health ministry to Dubai-based Executors General Trading to acquire 75 ventilators in 2020, which the Auditor General’s Office said violated Public Finance Regulation.
The ACC, which investigated the case, asked the Prosecutor General’s Office, on October 14, 2020, to file criminal charges against 11 government employees, including then-Health Minister Abdulla Ameen.
But the Prosecutor General’s Office declined to file charges against the 11 people involved in the case, citing a lack of evidence.
The ACC stated in a statement on Monday that it re-investigated the case in compliance with the Prosecutor General’s Office’s directions and resubmitted it on Sunday.
The commission stated that it has requested new charges be filed against the 11 officials involved in the case. It also said the officials acted in a way that precludes an advantage to the state in compiling the contract and throughout the procurement process, and requested additional charges under Article 13 of the Anti-Corruption Act.
Furthermore, the ACC stated that it followed the money trail in the probe but discovered no proof that money was given to any of the officials involved.
The ventilator scandal was probed by a joint team from the ACC and the Maldives Police Service.
