Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has sent back the charges submitted by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over the ventilator scandal for further revisions once again.
On November 1, ACC resubmitted the corruption charges against 11 officials of the Ministry of Health who were involved in the failed procurement of ventilators to the Maldives through a Dubai-based company last year. ACC had earlier submitted the charges in the ventilator case on October 14, 2020, but the PGO had declined to press charges, citing an inadequate investigation. ACC stated it included additional evidence acquired through further investigation, when the charges were resubmitted last month.
However, PGO has once again sent the charges back to ACC, citing the need for further revisions. The PGO said ACC has been requested to resubmit the charges after bringing the necessary changes as instructed by the PGO.
Irregularities in procuring ventilators to the Maldives were first detected in the COVID-19 compliance audit conducted on the health ministry by the Auditor General’s Office last year. As such, the audit revealed Dubai-based Executors General Trading was paid 90% of the quoted price in advance to procure 75 ventilators in April 2020, of which only 15 were procured. The audit report also revealed the company was selected without assessing its financial and technical capabilities, in addition to not obtaining advance payment and performance guarantees.