Gas procurement brought under STO discretion

Gas procurement operations of Maldive Gas has been formally brought under the discretion of State Trading Organization (STO), in light of money laundering allegations made on the state-owned gas company.

An STO official confirmed to Sun Online about this change, which they added had been made by STO’s board of directors.

Maldive Gas came under public scrutiny for alleged money laundering and corruption after comments about it were made by Deputy Speaker of the Parliament Ahmed Nazim at a Public Accounts Committee meeting last Wednesday.

At the meeting, Nazim said that the money paid for a liquified petroleum gas (LFG) shipment had vanished. He did not however, disclose the figure.

While highlighting the missing money, Nazim further stressed the LFG shipment never made it to the Maldives.

Not long after Nazim’s remarks, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) revealed it was looking into the matter, after which Maldives Police Services launched its probe regarding money laundering allegations.

Maldive Gas is a subsidiary of STO, and has been mired in similar allegations in the past as well. Several allegations of corruption were placed on its previous management during the former Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)-led government.

Among these allegations, the company is alleged to have ‘stolen’ the medical oxygen cylinders imported during Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

Besides this, its former Managing Director, Abdulla Maumoon, who held the position during Abdulla Yameen’s administration, is facing multiple corruption allegations as well.