Sultans of the Seas ordered to pay MVR 110 million to the State

The Supreme Court overturned a previous ruling issued by the High Court on Monday, ordering private travel company Sultans of the Seas to pay MVR 110 million to the State for committing fraud in the import of two luxury yachts to Maldives.

Sultans of the Seas is accused of committing fraud by concealing information regarding the brand, model, and price of two yachts it imported to Maldives in 2007 from the Customs, and claiming the yachts were secondhand, and used for six years. The fraud came to light upon further examination of the documents during an audit.

Following the discovery of the fraud, Customs ordered Sultans of the Seas to pay MVR 110.24 million; an additional MVR 53.61 million as import duty, and a fine of MVR 56.63 million under the Import/Export Act in effect at the time.

Customs filed a lawsuit against the Sultans of the Seas with the Civil Court to make the company make the payment. While the Civil Court ruled in favor of Customs, the ruling was overturned upon appeal by the High Court.

The High Court ruling was appealed by the State with the Supreme Court. The case remained stymied at the Supreme Court for a long period of time, before a new bench was established to look into the case.

The Supreme Court issued its ruling in the case this Monday.

The Supreme Court found there is sufficient evidence to prove Sultans of the Seas committed fraud, and that Customs reserves the right to take appropriate action against the company after the investigation proved it committed fraud.

The Supreme Court overturned the High Court’s ruling, and ruled to uphold the Civil Court’s ruling ordering Sultans of the Seas to pay the State MVR 110 million in import duty and fines.

The bench which looked into the case was composed of Justice Ali Rasheed Hussain, Justice Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim, and Justice Mahaz Ali Zahir. The bench was presided over by Justice Ali Rasheed Hussain.