MVR 1.2 million was paid in excess by AG Office for lawyer

It has come to light that the Attorney General’s (AG) Office paid MVR 1.2 million in excess to a foreign legal expert for legal advice regarding the investigation by the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) of a case related to the Maldives.

This was revealed in the Audit Report of the AG Office for 2012, published by the Auditor General today.

The report states that the consultation fee, as per the agreement between the AG Office and a UK legal expert following the initiation by CMAG of an investigation related to the Maldives, was £75,000 (MVR 1,785,283).

The AG Office had however paid the expert MVR 1,252,661 in excess of the consultation fee (MVR 1,785,283), and there are no documents to indicate what this payment was regarding, says the report.

The government obtained legal advice from Baroness Scotland, who has served as Attorney General for England and Wales in the government of Gordon Brown, in relation to the CMAG issue.

The report also notes that while no expenses related to the legal expert’s travels to the Maldives had been included in the agreement, MVR 108,902 had been spent as tickets and accommodation for the expert and her assistant.

The auditor general has recommended to take action against the groups that violated the law.