Deputy Managing Director of Maldive Gas Private Limited, Ikram Ali, has submitted his resignation amid the allegations of corruption raised against him.
According to State Trading Organisation (STO) - the parent company of Maldive Gas - Ikram resigned from his position citing personal reasons. However, his resignation has come soon after Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) launched a corruption investigation against him. He has also been accused of sexually harassing an employee of Maldive Gas.
Last week, ACC announced an investigation was launched into the procurement of 4,128 oxygen cylinders by Maldive Gas amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As per the information acquired by the State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Committee of the Parliament, Maldive Gas had acquired quotations from six overseas companies to procure 47 litres of oxygen cylinders. One of the companies contracted to procure the cylinders was ProBiz of Singapore. However, the refurbished cylinders procured by the company were old and unusable.
The SOE Committee revealed ProBiz had submitted a higher quotation compared to other companies. However, the committee said Deputy Managing Director Ikram Ali had instructed the contract to be awarded to ProBiz regardless, in order to procure the cylinders quickly.
Ikram had been the acting Managing Director of Maldive Gas since Managing Director Shazail Shiyam was suspended amid allegations of corruption.