Three employees suspended over MPL theft

Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) has confirmed the suspension of three staff in relation to the over MVR eight million theft at the company.

While the parliament’s state-owned enterprises (SOE) committee is probing the matter, senior officials of MPL were summoned to a meeting held on Tuesday for questioning.

Speaking at the meeting, MPL’s Chief Executive Officer Shahid Ali revealed that an internal audit showed that four staff members were involved in the theft.

Noting that the four were suspended, Shahid said that one’s suspension has since been lifted. He said the suspension was lifted after further probing the allegations against the employee, and after ensuring that there is no risk of the employee destroying evidence related to the case.

He said that the remaining three staff members are still under suspension, and that those involved in the theft include employees from its powerhouse and procurement departments.

The MPL CEO further stressed that the internal audit shows the involvement of employees at Fuel Supplies Maldives (FSM), adding that the company has been informed of the matter including those names of those suspected to be involved.

Shahid also said that the internal audit was conducted after the head officer at the company’s procurement department noticed irregularities back in September.

Noting that MPL continued work amid the Covid-19 lockdown, he said that the company’s expenditure was reduced by 50 percent. Despite this, Shahid said that the fuel expenditure remained high. He said that bills had been prepared for fuel that was not received by the company

The MPL CEO confirmed that over MVR eight million was stolen from the company. The company’s Chairman Mohamed Zaki resigned earlier this week, days after revealing the theft via Twitter.

MPL has lodged cases at the police, Auditor General’s Office and the Anti-Corruption Commission.