Audit: MVR 30.6M owed to now-dissolved BroadCom, unclear how much recovered

An audit report has found that the now-dissolved Maldives Broadcasting Commission (Broadcom) was owed MVR 30.6 million at the end of 2023, with the exact amount recovered in the following year unclear due to a server failure that resulted in significant data loss.

According to BroadCom’s 2024 audit, financial statements for 2023 showed that the Commission was owed MVR 30.6 million. However, the Commission was unable to include financial statements in its annual report for the subsequent year, as a server malfunction prevented access to key documentation.

Subsequently, BroadCom informed auditors that it was unable to compile a complete record of all outstanding dues as at the end of 2024. The data gap also made it impossible to verify the payments which are pending from these dues.

As per the 2023 audit, rebroadcasting license fees accounted for the majority of the outstanding MVR 30.6 million, making up for MVR 8.03 million, along with MVR 6.65 million in related fines.

Some of these fees and fines had been unpaid for more than three years and prompting the Auditor General’s Office (AG Office) to criticize BroadCom for insufficient regulatory enforcement in recovering the funds.

While data from Finance Ministry’s SAP system indicates that BroadCom received MVR 7.45 million in 2024, the audit report stated that the Commission did not maintain proper records or make the necessary system entries for these payments. Hence, it remains unclear how much of the 2024 receipts were related to outstanding dues carried forward from 2023.

Finance Ministry categorized the 2024 receipts as follows:

• Public performances (music) and cable TV: MVR 1.84 million
• Telecommunications license fees: MVR 5.36 million
• Regulatory fines: MVR 222,045
• Staff overtime and fines: MVR 17,357
• Prior year budget refunds: MVR 3,060
• Auction proceeds: MVR 1,400

The AG Office recommended that BroadCom implement more secure data storage systems to prevent the loss of critical financial records and called for strict compliance with State Financial Regulations to ensure the recovery of outstanding dues.

The current administration dissolved both the Broadcasting Commission and the Maldives Media Council following the enactment of a controversial media reform bill submitted to Parliament on 18 August last year. The legislation, which expands government oversight of the media sector, drew widespread criticism and protests from journalists and media rights advocates. Despite calls for the bill to be vetoed, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu ratified the legislation after the government-backed parliamentary supermajority maintained that concerns raised during the legislative process had been adequately addressed.

Under the new legal framework, the Broadcasting Commission and the Media Council were replaced by the Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission. In addition to assuming the regulatory responsibilities of its predecessors, the newly established body has been tasked with administering the government's commitment to provide state-funded financial assistance to private media organizations.

While the former BroadCom operated with an annual budget of approximately MVR 10 million in both 2023 and 2024, the new commission has been allocated MVR 16.3 million for the current fiscal year.