Ex-Education Minister Aishath summoned to ACC over swift engineering case
The Settlement Committee awarded Swift Engineering five new projects as compensation for previously terminated contracts instead of cash settlement
Former Education Minister Dr. Aishath Ali
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has summoned former Education Minister Dr. Aishath Ali in connection with the controversial case involving compensation awarded to Swift Engineering Private Limited.
The summons, issued on Monday, alleges that Dr. Aishath Ali, as a member of the Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee in 2019, participated in a decision that misused her official capacity to provide undue benefit to Swift Engineering. She is suspected of acting against the interests of the state in a matter that allegedly resulted in financial losses to the government. She has been instructed to appear before ACC at 9:30am, on Wednesday.
This marks the latest in a series of summonses related to the same case, which has already seen MDP Chairperson Fayyaz Ismail questioned on Monday, and former Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer summoned earlier. All three were part of the Settlement Committee under the previous administration.
The case revolves around six government projects awarded to Swift Engineering, a company owned by MP Saudullah Hilmy, a sitting member of the main ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) and a supporter of the current government. These projects were cancelled during the presidency of Abdulla Yameen, when Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, now President, served as Housing Minister.
According to information provided by Fayyaz, the Settlement Committee had called Swift Engineering to determine the form of compensation for the terminated contracts. The company reportedly opted for project-based compensation rather than a cash settlement. Five new projects were awarded to match the value of four of the six terminated ones, with no compensation provided for the remaining two. Despite this, MP Saud has claimed the arrangement ultimately benefited the state and that a court case could have led to a higher financial burden.
However, critics argue that the current investigation appears selective and politically motivated, particularly given that Swift Engineering is linked to a current government MP. While ACC is aggressively pursuing former officials from the previous administration, there has been little indication of interest in probing the decisions made under the former Housing Ministry, which played a direct role in the original contract terminations.
As more figures from the previous government are brought in for questioning, opposition leaders continue to question the neutrality of ACC, accusing it of being used as a tool to target political opponents while shielding allies of the current administration.
