Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has submitted corruption charges against former Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer, in relation to awarding the contract to acquire Monitor and Control (MoniCon) tags in 2015.
The contract to acquire MoniCon tags was awarded to Stalwart Maldives Private Limited in 2015, under the administration of former President Abdulla Yameen, with Umar Naseer serving as the home minister. ACC launched an investigation into the matter following accusations that the contract was awarded to a company with close relations to Umar Naseer.
Following the investigation, ACC revealed the procedure to seek parties to acquire and operate MoniCon tags was not carried out under the general procurement policy of the administration, noting the process was carried out under the direct instruction of Umar Naseer. ACC revealed all four shareholders of Stalwart Maldives were close associates of Umar Naseer, including two who were his business partners. ACC added Umar Naseer had formed a technical committee on his own and acted as its chair, to evaluate the trial of the tags presented by Stalwart Maldives.
ACC further noted the public finance regulation requires the bid committee to evaluate bids and award the contract to the company that has earned the highest points in accordance to the allocated criteria. However, ACC said the decision to award the contract to Stalwart Maldives was made simply based on a ruling by the trial evaluation committee that the tags presented by Stalwart were suitable for service. The commission noted there was no involvement of the bid committee in awarding the contract to acquire the tags.
Following the investigation, ACC concluded that Umar Naseer had used his position and influence to provide a benefit to a private party. ACC said the charges of corruption against Umar Naseer have been forwarded to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) for review.