Artur brothers were permitted to establish the company following a request from Tourism Ministry: Economic Minister

Ministry of Economic Development has said that the Artur brothers were granted permission to establish a company in the Maldives only after the Tourism Ministry had requested for such a permit.

Speaking at a news conference held by the Economic Ministry today, the Minister of Economic Development Ahmed Mohamed (Andey) said that both the Tourism Ministry and the Economic Ministry are mandated to issue permissions for foreign investments and that the permit for the company by the Artur brothers was issued by the Tourism Ministry.

“Under the foreign investment law, Tourism Ministry may also issue permits for foreign investments. So the [Tourism] Ministry sends us a no-objection letter. Now, it is best that you can clarify with the Tourism Ministry how they sent the letter. As far as the company [Artur brother’s company] is concerned, the [no-objection] letter was sent by the Tourism Ministry,” Economic Minister said.

When asked if they practice a back-ground check of the investor before issuing a permit, the Economic Minister said that the information about the investor is collected not when they issue the permits, but before they are issued, and that in this particular case, the process was handled by the Tourism Ministry.

Even though the police had stated that they had circulated information with the relevant authorites about the two conmen at an earlier stage, the Minister said that they had not received any such information and that the Economic Ministry had requested the police for the information regarding the two brothers last Monday, and that they are yet to receive the information as of today.

Economic Minister revealed that the Artur brothers company, “Arthur Brothers World Connections Private Limited” had imported goods into the Maldives. He however did not mention the type of goods imported.

While the Economic Ministry has shifted the permit issue on Tourism Ministry, it has recently come to light that the extension of Visas for the Artur brothers to stay in the Maldives was also requested by the Tourism Ministry. A recently leaked letter shows a request from the Tourism Ministry to Department of Immigration asking for an extension of their visas.

Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb has denied having any connection with the two Armenian brothers.

The Artur brothers are suspected of drug trafficking and other illegal activities, and known to make deals with senior government officials in different countries around the world to carry out illegal trades. Immigration records show that one of the people who came with Artur brothers still resides in the Maldives.