Health Ministry requests to submit ventilator case for arbitration to recover payment

Health Ministry has requested with Attorney General’s Office (AGO) to file an arbitration case to recover the monies paid by the government to Dubai-based Executors General Trading to procure ventilators for COVID-19 patients in 2020.

The case involves an MVR 34.50 million contract awarded by Health Ministry to Dubai-based Executors General Trading to procure 75 ventilators in 2020.

Executors General Trading only delivered 15 ventilators, and while Health Ministry paid MVR 30.91 million, which made for 90 percent of the total payment, to the company as an advance, without obtaining an advance guarantee or a performance guarantee.

AGO’s Communication Director Hussain Hassan told Sun that the office has commenced efforts to file the case for arbitration as per Health Ministry’s request.

“This office is currently undertaking the work necessary to file the case for arbitration,” he had said.

The 15 ventilators delivered by Executors General Trading were unusable.

Maldivian government served notice for termination of the contract for failure to deliver the remaining 60 ventilators in May 2021 – also demanding the reimbursement of the payment made.

Health Ministry said that Executors General Trading was served notice of arbitration on last Monday