Charges to be filed against Hope Travels in tax fraud case

Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has submitted a case to the Prosecutor General's Office (PG Office) requesting an investigation and prosecution into Hope Holdings, a company operating launch ferry services to islands in Shaviyani and Noonu Atolls under the name "Hope Travels", on suspicion of intentional tax fraud.

MIRA stated that the investigation revealed false information included in GST and Income Tax returns submitted by Hope Holdings between 1 July 2020, and 31 May 2023, with the intention of evading tax payments.

According to MIRA, their investigation found that although Hope Holdings Partnership was registered for GST, the "Hope Travels" operation was operating unregistered for an extended period. During this time, 89 percent of the total revenue was not included in GST returns.

The investigation revealed that MVR 54 million in revenue and over MVR three million in GST were not reported to MIRA. In addition to this, MVR 29 million in revenue was not included in the Income Tax returns for 2020 and 2021.

MIRA has also proposed charges against Shahid Ibrahim Manik, a partner in the business, and Mohamed Ali, who played a key role in the operations, in addition to Hope Holdings.

MIRA stated that they will continue to take action against those committing such tax-related offenses in accordance with the "Tax Crime Mitigation Strategy".

Under Section 64 of the Tax Administration Act, it is an offense to knowingly and intentionally engage in any act to evade paying due taxes. It is also an offense to assist a taxpayer with the intention of helping them evade taxes. MIRA has emphasized that they will take action against parties suspected of committing such tax-related offenses, fraud, or deception in line with their "Tax Crime Mitigation Strategy", which was developed to establish procedures for dealing with such cases.