Parliament’s SOE Committee to probe MIFCO chief’s suspension

The Parliament’s State-owned Enterprises (SOE) Committee has decided to look into the suspension of Ahmed Samah Rasheed, the chief executive officer of Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO).

The Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB) placed Samah under 14-day suspension on Monday, as it conducts an inquiry in response to a “corporate governance-related complaint” filed against him.

At a meeting on the SOE Committee on Wednesday, Dhaandhoo MP Yaugoob Abdulla proposed summoning both Samah and members of the PCB for questioning regarding the matter.

The motion was seconded by Central Maafannu MP Ibrahim Rasheed (Bonde), who said that it is imperative that the committee ascertain Samah wasn’t suspended for efforts to combat corruption.

“…Whether this is the hurdles he is facing for working against the corruption within MIFCO… And we find PCB is proactively dealing with this in a manner it has never done before,” said Bonde.

The decision to suspend Samah had come after a letter sent by the board listing serious allegations against him leaked on social media.

The letter highlighted 12 main allegations; including nepotism in the hiring process and misuse of company resources for political purposes.

However, the PCB has not made an official comment regarding the leaked letter.