Tag: fraud

Government to host Boney M concert after Sri Lankan organiser arrested for fraud

A Sri Lankan man is being held by police for charges of fraud connected with the recently postponed Boney M concert.

Police Sub-Inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed the Sri Lankan national has been in police custody since Thursday and will be taken to court later this evening.

The Mega International Music Fiesta, which was scheduled to take place at the Galolhu National Stadium in Malé on 14 April, was being organised by Pro Maldives Inc Ltd (also known as Pro Models) in partnership with Sri Lankan company ‘Rokomaestro Inc USA’.

The event was cancelled at the last minute and managing director of Pro Models Mohamed Nizam told media although they had not received any pressure or complaints, the show had to be postponed and there would be a full refund for people who had already bought tickets.

Tickets were sold at Rf 250 and 500 (US$19.5 and US$39).

Minivan News was unable to find a website, business registration or contact details for any company called ‘Rokomaestro Inc USA’ in Sri Lanka.

A ‘completely new show’

The original show would have starred disco legends Boney M and featured British reggae legends Aswad and North American rapper Bubba Sparxxx.

The Maldives Entertainment Company Ltd, backed by the Ministry of Human Resources, Youth and Sports, has now taken over planning and executing the event, which will be held on 26 April in Dharubaaruge.

Press Secretary for the President’s Office, Mohamed Zuhair, said the concert was postponed because “the agency in charge of delivering the stars here had some technical difficulties.”

He said Boney M cancelled the show because of these “technical difficulties”. Zuhair said Pro Models then “appealed to the government for help” and the government agreed because they felt it would be “good for the country.”

He added refunds were being given for those who bought the original tickets.

Minister for Human Resources, Youth and Sports, Hassan Lateef, said the original show was “a flop” because the companies in charge of organising the event “couldn’t bring [Boney M] down to the Maldives.”

“There was not enough communication with Boney M management,” Lateef said, “so [Boney M] cancelled.”

He said he had no suspicion that the previous organisers were playing a scam on ticket buyers, and added it was “a lack of trust” on the part of Boney M management that stopped the show from taking place on its original date.

Lateef said because tickets had been sold and the public had the expectation of seeing the show, “the government intervened” and Boney M’s appearance has been confirmed for 26 April.

He added the agreement is being sent to Boney M management for signing today.

“A lot of things were not arranged properly,” he said, noting that advanced payments were not made and the event organisers had trouble in getting the members to the Maldives.

Lateef said the ministry had not received any complaints about the Boney M concert and added, “I have received calls from government officials… a lot of people have made bookings.”

He acknowledged “it’s not good for the government to host a show,” but assured the government has no intention of hosting other events in the future. “Because of how things went, we had to intervene,” he said.

Lateef also noted this is “a totally new show”, distinct from the original ‘International Fiesta’, and new tickets are required.

“I heard the [original] tickets have been refunded,” he said, and advised people to buy tickets for the new show “as soon as possible” as there is limited seating in the new venue.

The new show, which will feature an original member of Boney M, will feature a local band, but he said the local artists have still not been selected.

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Deputy Speaker of Parliament pleads not guilty to conspiracy to defraud

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim has pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud and embezzlement at the criminal court yesterday.
At yesterday’s hearing, State Prosecutor Abdullah Rabiu said Nazim was managing director at Namira Engineering when the company’s equipment and staff were used to create fake letterheads and submit proposals on behalf of unregistered companies for a bid worth US110,000 to provide 15,000 national flags for the former atolls ministry.
If found guilty, the MP for Meemu Atoll Dhiggaru and vice-president of the opposition People’s Alliance will be ordered to pay Rf1.4 million to the state and sentenced to between one to six years imprisonment.
Under article 131 of the penal code, an extra month will be added to the sentence for every additional Rf1,000 if the fraudulent transaction exceeds Rf100,000.
According to article 73 of the constitution, an MP convicted for over one year in jail will lose his seat in parliament.
Responding to the charges, Nazim’s lawyer Mohamed Saleem requested time to study the evidence and prepare a defense.
Web of corruption
In August last year, police concluded an investigation into alleged web of corruption revealed in the audit report of the former atolls ministry.
At a press conference in August, police said they had uncovered evidence that implicated former Atolls Minister Abdullah Hameed, Eydhafushi MP Ahmed ‘Redwave’ Saleem, former director of finance at the ministry, and Nazim in fraudulent and corrupt practices worth over US$260,000 (Mrf 3,446,950).
Police exhibited numerous quotations, agreements, tender documents, receipts, bank statements and forged cheques proving that Nazim received over US400,000 in the scam.
A hard disk seized during a raid of Nazim’s office in May allegedly contained copies of forged documents and bogus letter heads.
Police maintain that money was channelled through the scam to Deputy Speaker Nazim who laundered cash through Namira Engineering and Trading Pvt Ltd and other unregistered companies.
Police further alleged that MP Saleem actively assisted the scam in his then-position as a director of finance within the ministry, while Nazim’s wife Zeenath Abdullah had abused her position as a manager of the Bank of Maldives’ Villingili branch to deposit proceeds of the fraudulent conspiracy.
Police said Hameed played a key role in the fraud by handing out bids without public announcements, making advance payments using cheques against the state asset and finance regulations, approving bid documents for unregistered companies and discriminatory treatment of bid applicants.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud the former ministry of atolls development.

At yesterday’s hearing, State Prosecutor Abdullah Rabiu said Nazim was managing Director of Namira Engineering and Trading Pvt Ltd when the company’s equipment and staff were used to create fake letterheads and submit proposals on behalf of unregistered companies.

One of the paper companies won a bid worth US$110,000 to provide 15,000 national flags for the former atolls ministry.

If found guilty, the MP for Meemu Atoll Dhiggaru and vice-president of the opposition People’s Alliance will be ordered to pay Rf1.4 million (US$108,900) to the state and sentenced to between one to six years of imprisonment.

Under provision 131 of the penal code, an extra month will be added to the jail sentence for every additional Rf1,000 if the fraudulent transaction exceeds Rf100,000.

According to article 73 of the constitution, an MP convicted for over one year in jail will lose his seat.

Responding to the charges, Nazim’s lawyer Mohamed Saleem requested time to study the evidence and prepare a defense.

Web of corruption

At a press conference in August last year, Chief Inspector Ismail Atheef said police had uncovered evidence that implicated former Atolls Minister Abdullah Hameed, Eydhafushi MP Ahmed “Redwave” Saleem, former director of finance at the ministry, and Nazim in fraudulent transactions worth over US$260,000 (Mrf 3,446,950).

Police exhibited numerous quotations, agreements, tender documents, receipts, bank statements and forged cheques proving that Nazim received over US$400,000 in the scam.

A hard disk seized during a raid of Nazim’s office in May allegedly contained copies of forged documents and bogus letter heads.

Police maintain that money was channelled through the scam to Nazim who laundered cash through Namira Engineering and other unregistered companies.

Police further alleged that MP Saleem actively assisted the scam in his then-position as director of finance at the ministry, while Nazim’s wife Zeenath Abdullah had abused her position as a manager of the Bank of Maldives’ Villingili branch to deposit proceeds of the fraudulent conspiracy.

Police said Hameed, brother of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, played a key role in the fraud by handing out bids without public announcements, making advance payments using cheques against the state asset and finance regulations, approving bid documents for unregistered companies and discriminatory treatment of bid applicants.

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