Tag: nexbis

Nexbis to challenge termination of Border Control System project

Additional reporting by Ahmed Naish.

Nexbis has said it will challenge parliament’s decision instructing the government terminate a Border Control System (BCS) project signed under the previous administration.

The Malaysia-based IT group has said it will seek a court injunction preventing any attempts to cancel the agreement whilst court hearings over the contract were still ongoing.

Speaking to local media on Tuesday (December 25), Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed claimed the government would respect parliament’s unanimous decision to halt the BCS project agreement with Nexbis.

Dr Jameel told local newspaper Haveeru that it was “difficult to come up with an exact figure at present” for the level of compensation the government would potentially have to pay Nexbis after prematurely terminating a contract with the company.

The home minister was not responding to Minivan News at the time of press.

Yesterday’s vote on the deal was taken after Parliament’s Finance Committee claimed there had been foul play in the agreement signed between Nexis and the Maldives immigration department.

Prior to the parliamentary vote, an official spokesperson for Nexbis told Minivan News on December 23 that the company would “challenge” any decision by the Majlis to halt the BCS contract while court hearings were continuing in the country.

“We are asking the Supreme Court to intervene with the decision as we have come to be aware that the contract cannot be legally terminated if there is an ongoing legal case. Presently we have legal cases in the Civil Court, the High Court and the Supreme Court,” the Nexbis source added.

Meanwhile, Director of the Department of Judicial Administration Ahmed Maajid today (December 26) confirmed that to his knowledge, Nexbis was currently involved in ongoing cases within the Maldives’ judicial system.

Maajid added that on a legal basis, the contract between Nexbis and the government could not be terminated until all proceedings involving the company were concluded.

“There is a provision in the Judicature Act under Law 22, 2010 that basically states no public body can terminate a contract with a company that is involved in judicial proceedings in the courts,” he said,

“The government has made their decision based on the the Majlis’ vote. But the legality of that decision can be challenged at the Civil Court if Nexbis submit a case. They have a constitutional right to do so.”

The MVR 500 million (US$39 million) BCS project moved ahead this year after a series of high-profile court battles and delays that led Nexbis to last year threaten legal action against the Maldivian government should it incur losses for the work already done on the project.

The Malaysia-based mobile security provider has come under scrutiny by political parties who claim that the project is detrimental to the state, while the Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) has alleged corruption in the bidding process.

Nexbis has denied any allegations of wrong doing within its contract.

Unanimous vote

Amidst these concerns, parliament voted unanimously yesterday (December 25) to instruct the government to terminate the border control project agreement with Nexbis.

All 74 MPs in attendance voted in favour of a Finance Committee recommendation following a probe into the potential financial burden placed on the state as a result of the deal.

Presenting the Finance Committee report to the floor, Chair MP Ahmed Nazim explained that the “main problem” flagged by the ACC was that the tender had not been made in accordance with the documents by the National Planning Council authorising the project.

The documents were changed to favour the chosen party and facilitate the deal, Nazim said, which the ACC considered an act of corruption.

Regarding allegations of corruption within the contract, the Nexbis source told Minivan News that the company is “systematically denying” any allegations of corruption, adding that if there was any foul play within the contract “we were unaware of it”.

Nazim stressed that the Finance Committee inquiry focused on the financial burden on the state and had discovered that the government would have to pay US$166 million to Nexbis over the course of the agreement.

Conversely, he claimed that the Maldivian government would only earn US$8 million as royalties during the agreement period.

Nazim noted that the Finance Ministry informed the committee that it was yet to receive a copy of the agreement two years after it was signed.

The Finance Ministry has also not included any funds in either the 2012 or 2013 budgets to pay for the project.

Nazim also accused the then-attorney general of “negligence” in the deal as he had not provided an official legal opinion to the Immigration Department in writing.

Recommendations by the former attorney general to amend the agreement could not be found in the documentation, he added.

Nazim said the Finance Committee concluded therefore that the best course of action would be to terminate the Nexbis agreement and install a different border control system at the earliest date.

Following the Finance Committee decision, the budget review committee has included a recommendation compelling the government to terminate the Nexbis agreement.

The Finance Committee also recommended terminating the agreement over concerns it contained clauses to waive taxes to the company, Nazim said. He noted that imposing or waiving taxes was a prerogative of parliament under article 97(d) of the constitution.

During the ensuing debate, MPs from both the formerly ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and government-aligned parties spoke in favour of terminating the agreement.

Along with the decision to terminate the Nexbis deal, the government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hasaan Manik late last month also opted to void an airport development agreement with India-based infrastructure group GMR.

The GMR contract, a 25-year agreement to develop and manage an entire new terminal at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), was the single largest foreign investment project in the country’s history.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Parliament to vote on whether to halt Nexbis border control project

Parliament’s Finance Committee is to put the controversial issue of the Nexbis border control system (BCS) before parliament to vote on whether to halt use of the project.

The MVR500 million (US$39 million) project finally moved ahead this year after a series high-profile court battles and delays that led Malaysia-based Nexbis to last year threaten legal action against the Maldivian government should it incur losses for the work already done on the project.

However, the Malaysia-based mobile security provider has come under scrutiny by political parties who claim that the project is detrimental to the state, while the Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) has continuously alleged of corruption in the bidding process.

Nexbis has continued to dismiss accusations of corruption within its deal with the Maldives government.

The vote has been scheduled after Parliament’s Finance Committee earlier this month also revealed that the Maldivian government had agreed to waive taxes for Nexbis.  The committee noted in a letter sent to President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan that there was a potential financial burden facing the state due to the BCS deal agreed with Nexbis.

Despite the allegations, the border control system is currently active at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) after a Supreme Court ruling in early September favouring Nexbis ended almost two years of efforts by the ACC to block the project.

Speaking about the BSC project, Majlis Finance Committee member Ahmed Hamza said today he believed parliament would halt the project as “most members” were of the impression the contract is not financially beneficial to the country.

“The nature of the contract means that both the government and Maldivian people will suffer heavily from a financial point of view,” Hamza told Minivan News today.

In September, the ACC informed the committee that the deal would cost the Maldives MVR 2.5 billion (US$162 million) in potential lost revenue over the lifetime of the contract.

A member of Parliament’s Finance Committee member told local media yesterday (December 18) that the project is “laden with corruption allegations” and could have been carried out at a much lesser cost.

When asked if there was a sufficient system to take over from Nexbis, Hamza revealed today that there was a “worry” within the immigration department that their own system will not be sufficient.

Furthermore, Hamza stated that there is a “possibility” that human trafficking could increase should the Nexbis contract be cancelled, and to combat this parliament will need to provide a “sufficient solution to deal with these problems”.

Under the ‘build operate and transfer’ (BOT) agreement with Nexbis, the government is obliged to pay Nexbis US$2 for every foreign passenger processed and US$15 for every work permit for the 20 year lifespan of the contract. Nexbis remains responsible for the upgrading, servicing and administration of the system.

Former Immigration Controller Abdulla Shahid has expressed concern earlier this year over both the cost and necessity of the project, calculating that with continued growth in tourist numbers, Nexbis would be earning US$200 million in revenue over the 20 year lifespan of the agreement.

At five percent, royalties to the government would come to US$10 million, Shahid said, when there was little reason for the government not to be earning the revenue itself by operating a system given by a donor country.

“The option was there to establish the system for free,” stated ACC President Hassan Luthfee, revealing that the US government had offered a free system in 2009.

“Even the Indian government had offered to do it for free. On the other hand this could have been done for MVR2.3-2.5 million. So we can’t believe that this should be done at such a high cost,” Luthfee told the committee.

Minivan News today contacted Immigration Controller Dr Mohamed Ali over the developments regarding the BCS agreement with Nexbis.

“I am not aware of any recent decisions from the parliament over this matter,” Dr Ali claimed, before declining to comment further.

Back in July, Dr Ali claimed that with the Maldives having signed up to conventions pledging to try and more effectively combat Transnational Organised Crime like human trafficking, new systems were needed to help meet these aims.

“From our own experience, we have found people being trafficked back into the country even after they have previously been deported,” he claimed at the time. ”A system like this should put a stop to that.”

Minivan News was also awaiting a response from Nexbis at the time of press.

Nexbis has previously claimed that allegations of corruption in its deal with the government was “politically motivated” and had “wrought irreparable damage to its reputation and brand name.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Government agreed to waive taxes for Nexbis, reveals Parliament’s Finance Committee

The Maldivian government agreed to waive taxes for Nexbis as part of the controversial border control agreement signed with the Malaysia-based mobile security provider, parliament’s Finance Committee has revealed.

The People’s Majlis secretariat explained in a statement yesterday (December 11) that the committee has sent a letter to President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik noting the findings of an inquiry to determine the possible financial burden on the state due to the Nexbis deal.

“The Finance Committee told the President that the ties and cooperation between state institutions necessary for the border control system was non-existent,” the Majlis press release read.

The Finance Ministry meanwhile informed the public accounts oversight committee on November 13 that it has yet to receive a copy of the border control agreement.

The committee observed that the government had “not considered” that tax exemption was within the legislative powers of parliament.

Moreover, the committee noted that “no government department has to date” initiated any effort to approve waiving taxes for the Malaysian company.

The Finance Committee also informed the President that the relevant government authorities lacked “authentic and valid information” of the border control project.

The committee further noted that the relevant authorities did not offer “adequate cooperation” in providing information for the inquiry.

In a letter to the Finance Committee on November 1, the Immigration Department explained that the border control system agreement was signed before the Business Profit Tax (BPT) came into effect.

However, the government agreed to exempt Nexbis from the tax with a final decision to be made by the Finance Ministry, the Immigration Department said.

Nexbis deal

Speaking at a rally last month, parliament’s Minority Leader MP Abdulla Yameen called on the government to “immediately” terminate the agreement with Nexbis and contended that the project was detrimental to the state.

The parliamentary group leader of the government-aligned Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) also criticised the government’s “hesitancy” to cancel the agreement despite the Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ACC’s) findings of alleged corruption in the deal.

Local media meanwhile reported that the Finance Committee had decided during a closed-door session last month to instruct the executive to halt the project.

The decision would however have to be approved through a vote on the Majlis floor following consideration of a report by the committee.

In September, the ACC informed the committee that the deal would cost the Maldives MVR 2.5 billion (US$162 million) in potential lost revenue over the lifetime of the contract.

Following its investigation into alleged corruption in awarding of the contract to Nexbis, the ACC requested the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) press criminal charges against former Controller of Immigration Ilyas Hussain, brother-in-law of President Waheed.

Almost a year after the case was forwarded to the PGO however, no charges have been pressed against the former immigration chief to date.

The ACC alleged that Ilyas Hussain had abused his authority for undue financial gain.

Ilyas – a senior member of Dr Waheed’s Gaumee Ihtihad Party (GIP) – was transferred from the post under former President Mohamed Nasheed when the corruption allegations first surfaced.

His successor Abdulla Shahid expressed concern with both the cost and necessity of the project, calculating that with continued growth in tourist numbers, Nexbis would be earning US$200 million in revenue over the 20-year lifespan of the agreement.

Following Dr Waheed’s swearing-in as president on February 7, Ilyas was reappointed controller of immigration. He was however replaced in May with Dr Mohamed Ali and appointed State Minister for Defence.

Former President Nasheed meanwhile alleged in a rally last month that Dr Waheed’s GIP’s Deputy Leader Mohamed ‘Nazaki’ Zaki was complicit in any alleged corrupt dealings in his role as Ambassador to Malaysia.

“Before the [border control] system was established, before there was even a contract in effect, I later heard that equipment was kept in some warehouses in Male’,” he said, claiming that the warehouses were owned by Nazaki Zaki.

Nasheed added that he “agreed completely with Yameen” that the allegations should be investigated.

The border control system is now up and running at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), after a Supreme Court ruling in September in favour of Nexbis ended almost two years of efforts by the ACC to block the project.

Under the ‘build operate and transfer’ (BOT) agreement with Nexbis, the government is obliged to pay the security firm US$2 for every foreign passenger processed and US$15 for every work permit for the 20 year lifespan of the contract. Nexbis remains responsible for the upgrading, servicing and administration of the system.

Nexbis has continued to dismiss accusations of corruption within its deal with the Maldives government. The mobile security solutions vendor last year threatened to take legal action against any party in the Maldives alleging that the company was involved in corruption. Nexbis claimed at the time that the speculation over corruption in the deal was “politically motivated” and had “wrought irreparable damage to its reputation and brand name.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

GMR dispute not putting off foreign investors, claims Chamber of Commerce

The Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MNCCI) has claimed legal wrangling between the government and India-based developer GMR over a multi-million dollar airport development will not harm confidence in the country’s “challenging” investment climate.

Under the terms of the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) agreement – the largest ever foreign investment in the Maldives’ history – GMR signed a 25 year concession agreement to develop and manage the site, as well as redevelop the existing terminal by the end of this year.

However, the coalition government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan since coming to power has continued to press to “re-nationalise” the airport, with the country’s Deputy Tourism Minister this week confirming in Indian media that the administration wouldn’t “rule out the possibility of cancelling the award [to GMR]”.

Both parties are presently involved in an arbitration case in Singapore over the airport development as several government coalition parties including the country’s religious Adhaalath Party (AP) held a gathering in Male’ on Thursday showing a “united stand” on opposing the GMR deal until the airport was “liberated”.

MNCCI Vice President Ishmael Asif contended that ongoing legal disputes linked to both the GMR agreement and another high-profile contract to manage a border control system with Malaysia-based Nexbis were not among concerns foreign investors had raised with the chamber.

“GMR has nothing to do with the investment climate here, at the end of the day it is a personal concern for the company and more a matter of local politics,” he claimed.

When questioned on the perceived financial factors behind the “quite challenging” investment climate, Asif pointed to political unrest in the country in the build up ad aftermath of February’s controversial transfer of power.

“A second factor is that in major investment markets like Europe, the economy is not doing very well, which does have an impact,” he said. “Locally of course, the problem is politics.”

Asif added that among the key concerns raised by foreign investors to the MNCCI about doing business in the Maldives were concerns about locals laws and regulations, particularly regarding depositioning and withdrawing funds.

The MNCCI also questioned the current importance of Sri Lanka and India for investment and trade opportunities in the country, compared to markets like Australia and the Middle East. Asif claimed that India and Sri Lanka mainly traded certain local foodstuffs with the Maldives, rather than providing large-scale investment projects.

“In terms of the affects to the investment climate, I don’t think there will be much of an impact on other investors from the GMR issue,” he said.

Conversely, Asif said that the MNNCI had been concerned about the impact of the GMR deal on local businesses, alleging that a planning council related to the infrastructure group’s bid had not been open to the public or its members.

“The public was kept in the dark over this matter,” he said, adding that local workers were concerned about the pact of GMR’s airport development. “All local businesses had to move out of the airport and were shut down.”

Asif pointed to the case of local enterprises such as MVK Maldives Private Limited, which in December last year was ordered by the Civil Court to vacate the Alpha MVKB Duty Free shop based at INIA after its agreement had expired.

GMR officials began to physically remove the Alpha MVKB Duty Free Shop at INIA after “several notices” to vacate the area were “ignored”.

On December 14, company CEO Ibrahim Shafeeq held a protest “to demonstrate our opinions and dislike of what GMR has done to us, and to get public responses.”

Speaking to private broadcaster Raaje TV this week, former Economic Development Minister Mahmoud Razee, who had worked with the previous government and international partners on the GMR agreement denied that the deal had resulted in local enterprises being kicked out.

“The privatisation policy does not itself kick others out. It is about honouring the contract. No one has actually been kicked out, but private parties have opportunities to participate. The issue that has always existed is getting cheap capital for small scale businesses,” he claimed.

Razee claimed that the GMR deal reflected a commitment by the former government to pursue privatisation as outlined in the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP’s) manifesto.

“Firstly, if or when anything is run like a business, private people are more skilled and efficient. They are far more competent and they work for profit unlike the government,” he claimed.  “This means it requires less cost for the government, but needs more outside investment or capital. Private people are more skilled and efficient in terms of managing. The end product thus is more beneficial.”

Addressing criticisms from some local politicians that privatisation provided no benefits to the nation, Razee conceded there was an element of truth to the assumption, but stressed it did not reflect longer-term economic benefits.

“Because the investment is huge, the project is big; the first beneficiaries are always the investors. True. The benefits go to the foreigners,” he said. “In foreign countries, they make a consortium, which means the profits are being shared within multiple parties. For example, if a Turkish company is investing here, it doesn’t mean they do everything themselves. If they are developing a property, the construction, or other necessary work is done through local companies.”

Despite the claims, local media reported that a gathering at Male’ artificial beach area went ahead on Thursday (September 27) as part of a protest under the name “The Maldivians’ airport to Maldivians”.

According to local media, of the government-aligned parties represented, only the leaders of the Adhaalath Party such as were witnessed in attendance during the gathering.

“The protest… was not participated [in] by large numbers of people,” according to the Haveeru newspaper.

During the demonstration, a number of speakers reportedly called for action to “regain” the airport from GMR and annul the current development agreement, while claiming the estimated US$700 million required by the company in compensation would be lower.
The gathering is expected to be the first in an ongoing series of events to push for the airport to be “renationalised”.

Both AP President Sheikh Imran Abdulla and Minister of State for Islamic Affairs Mohamed Didi were not responding to calls from Minivan News at the time of press.

Despite these commitments, the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) has said it would not join its fellow government coalition partners in protests to oppose the airport privatisation contract, claiming any resolution to the dispute must be made through the courts.

DRP Spokesperson Ibrahim Shareef has told Minivan News this week that while the party itself questioned if the GMR deal was in the best interest of the public, “due process” had to be followed through proper legal channels in order to establish if any wrong doing had occurred with the airport contract.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Nexbis appeals High Court injunction halting border control project

Malaysia-based security solutions firm Nexbis has filed an appeal at the Supreme Court against a High Court injunction ordering a halt to the border control system, reports newspaper Haveeru.

The High Court issued an injunction after the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) appealed a Civil Court judgment that ruled that the commission did not have the legal authority to order the Department of Immigration and Emigration to halt the border control project.

The High Court ordered a halt to the project pending a verdict on the appeal by the ACC.

Nexbis lawyer Ismail Visham told the local daily today that the company decided to appeal the injunction as the High Court case remained stalled, causing delays to the project.

The Supreme Court has meanwhile scheduled a hearing for next Wednesday. The Supreme Court had earlier issued a writ of mandamus overturning the first High Court injunction on the grounds that the High Court bench that heard the case was unlawful.

A reconvened High Court bench subsequently issued the injunction for a second time on July 16.

Following the Supreme Court intervention, Controller of Immigration and Emigration Dr Mohamed Ali has told Minivan News on July 11 that there was “no legal barrier” preventing the implementation of the border control system.

The High Court meanwhile ordered police to investigate claims made to the ACC that Chief Judge of the High Court Ahmed Shareef met officials from the company in Bangkok.

The dispute concerns the deployment of a border control system, specifically the installation of an electronic border gate system in Male’s Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), bringing technological upgrades such as facial recognition, fingerprint identification and e-gates to the Maldives.

The MVR500 million (US$39 million) deal had stalled after the ACC alleged corruption in the bidding process, leading to a ongoing series of high-profile court battles and delays that led the Malaysian firm to threaten legal action against the Maldivian government should it incur losses for the work already done on the project.

In May 2012, the project was brought to a standstill by the first High Court injunction and a raid on immigration offices by ACC staff. At the time the MVR10 million (US$650,000) first phase of the border control project had been completed, according to local media reports.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

US challenges Maldives’ prosecution of terror suspects, among concerns over rising radicalisation

The US State Department has reported there were no successful prosecutions of suspected terror suspects during 2011 in the Maldives, and raised wider concerns about the potential radicalisation of young people from the country in foreign madrassas.

According to the US government’s recently published “Country Reports on Terrorism 2011”, the Maldives was viewed to have “severely limited” legislation to prosecute alleged cases of terrorism and extremism in the country’s courts.

While the Maldives government said it was presently looking to address several security and terrorist threats, such as piracy and organised crime, through existing legislation and proposed legal amendments, it moved to deny any truth in claims Maldivian citizens were being radicalised at Pakistan-based madrassas.

President’s Office spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza said that the government was presently collecting information in regards to the issue of radicalisation in the country.  He stressed active steps had been taken against permitting clearance for local students to study in any madrassas in the country.

“No Maldivians right now are being trained in Pakistani madrassas.  Steps are being taken to ensure this with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and authorities in Pakistan,” he said. “We will not issue visas to go there in this regard. So to say that such a threat exists is definitely not true.”

Key threats

In addressing other key threats to the nation, Abbas claimed that the incursion of pirates from Somalia into the Maldives’ territories on two reported occasions, as well as human trafficking resulting from organised crime were seen as “particular dangers”.

“The threat we currently face from pirates and traffickers is being dealt with via existing legislation, as well as some new amendments that have presently been proposed in parliament,” he said.

Abbas said the new government had not opted to make any drastic changes to existing counter-terror policy enacted under former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration.

“We will not be making a 180 degree reversal on the last government’s stance,” he said, adding that a focus on further legislation would be sought under President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan.

US State Department view

According to the US State Department, the American government was partnering with Maldivian counterparts in attempts to “strengthen” law enforcement in the Indian Ocean nation.  The US was also said to back establishing community outreach schemes based around countering terrorist ideologies, as the state department stressed alleged radicalism remained a concern in the Maldives.

“The government believes that hundreds of young Maldivians attended madrassas in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, and was concerned that these students were bringing home radical ideology,” stated the report. Two Maldivians, in separate instances in March and October, were arrested in Sri Lanka on charges linked to terrorism. Their cases were pending at year’s end.”

One of the suspects, Mohamed Ameen, was released from police custody in May ths year by the criminal court after it did not issue an extension to his detention period.

Local media reported that the suspect was released by the court “on the condition that he not get involved in any further terrorist activities, and not leave the country.”

Beyond legislation, the report also pointed to the signing of an agreement signed with Malaysia-based IT group Nexbis to install a new border control system with an integrated database in an effort to try and combat human trafficking into the country.

“However, alleged corruption concerns and subsequent legal proceedings made it unclear when the system would be installed,” the report stated.

The Maldives was last month included on the US State Department’s Tier Two Watch List for Human Trafficking for a third year in a row.

The US State Department added that the Maldives, during 2011, had become a partner in its Antiterrorism Assistance programme focused on training in areas such as “counterterrorism leadership”, as well as regional cooperation with other authorities.

The report also noted the Maldives inclusion in the regional Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, where it had been submitting annual updates on its work.

“Maldives underwent a mutual evaluation conducted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the final evaluation report was adopted by the members in July 2011.  Maldivian law does not criminalize money laundering apart from a small provision in the Drugs Act. The Maldives Financial Intelligence Unit took the lead in drafting an Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Financing of Terrorism act with assistance from the IMF,” the report stated.

“The draft bill was sent to the Attorney General’s Office in July 2010 and was sent back to the Maldives Police Services and the prosecutor general for review and comment. In July 2011, Maldives Financial Transactions Reporting came into effect, which aims to safeguard Maldives financial and payment systems from being used to promote acts of terrorism and money laundering, and to protect financial services and products from being used to conceal the proceeds of crime.”

According to the state department, the UN 1267/1989 and 1988 consolidated lists detailing individuals or entities with associations to the Taliban and al-Qa’ida had also been sent to the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The MMA was said to have instructed banks creditors to then take acton on the matter with a set time frame, according to the report.

As part of the US State Department’s findings during 2011, recognition was also given to efforts made by the Maldives government to pursue intiatives and mechanisms designed to counter “violent extremism”.

“The Ministry of Islamic Affairs implemented a programme designed to mobilise religious and social leaders to work against all forms of violence in society, including religious extremism that leads to violence,” stated the report. “The Ministry conducted over 15 seminars and workshops for religious leaders, educators, and local government officials. Several of these workshops included participants from across the country.

“Ideological problems”

Islamic Affairs Minister Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said in June that he was seeking to counter the “ideological problems” of extremism in the country.

Shaheem claimed that the threat of home-grown terrorism was a key issue needing to be addressed in the Maldives – something he alleged the previous government under former President Nasheed had neglected to assist with through funding.

“The previous government did not give us the budget we needed to run programmes to address these issues,” he said at the time. “There are problems here with extremism and terrorism, these are idealogical problems that need to be targeted through religious awareness campaigns.”

Shaheem himself previously served under the Nasheed government as Islamic State Minister before resigning in December 2010 over differences of opinion with the administration over issues such as claims it was strengthening links with Israel.

However, the now opposition Maldvian Democratic Party (MDP) – to which Nasheed remains the current presidential candidate – was sceptical of the commitments of religious figures attached to the Waheed administration. It contends the government came to power on February 7 in a “coup d’etat”.

Party Spokesperson and MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor claimed that with the MDP failing to recognise the legitimacy of the current government, the same was true for ministerial appointments like Sheikh Shaheem.

Ghafoor also alleged that issues such as Islamic fundamentalism were a well established tool used during the 30 year rule of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom to pit different factions in the country against each other, something he believed was once again happening with the present government.

“I see Shaheem as a just a little cog inserted into the larger machine of Gayoom’s political control,” he said.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

“No legal barrier” to implement Nexbis system: immigration controller

Controller of Immigration and Emigration Dr Mohamed Ali has said there is “no legal barrier” preventing the implementation of a border control system (BCS) developed by Malaysia-based security solutions firm Nexbis.

Dr Ali told Minivan News today Nexbis could continue with introduction of a new biometric BCS system after the Supreme Court in June invalidated a High Court injunction blocking work on the project in May.

The controller made his comments after Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed maintained calls in local media to halt the BCS installation, citing allegations of corruption involving the deal.

Dr Jameel claimed a letter requesting work on the project to cease in line with the recommendations of Attorney General Aishath Azima Shakoor and the country’s Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) had been sent to the immigration controller.

“The government is also of the same view pertaining to the continuation of the project. We urge the project be taken forward with the recommendations of the AG and the ACC. As far as I’m aware, it is the stand of the government,” he was quoted as saying by Haveeru.

President’s Office spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza was not responding to calls at the time of press regarding the comments attributed to Dr Jameel.

The legal dispute between the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Nexbis escalated last week after the High Court ordered police to investigate claims made to the ACC that Chief Judge of the High Court Ahmed Shareef met officials from the company in Bangkok.

The dispute concerns the deployment of a border control system, specifically the installation of an electronic border gate system in Male’s Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), bringing technological upgrades such as facial recognition, fingerprint identification and e-gates to the Maldives.

The Rf500 million (US$39 million) deal had stalled after the ACC alleged corruption in the bidding process, leading to a ongoing series of high-profile court battles and delays that led the Malaysian firm to threaten legal action against the Maldivian government should it incur losses for the work already done on the project.

In May 2012, the project was brought to a standstill by a High Court injunction and a raid on immigration offices by ACC staff. At the time the Rf10 million (US$650,000) first phase of the border control project had been completed, according to local media reports.

Speaking today, Immigration Controller Dr Ali claimed that, in light of the Supreme Court’s decision to overrule the injunction, Nexbis had continued its work to install the system from where it had previously been halted.

“In the absence of a legal order and unless I get a decision from the cabinet, there is nothing that I can do on this issue,” he said. “The government wanted a biometric system to stop the smuggling and trafficking of people.”

Dr Ali added that with the Maldives having already signed up to conventions pledging to try and more effectively combat Transnational Organised Crime like human trafficking, new systems were needed to help meet these aims.

“From our own experience, we have found people being trafficked back into the country even after they have previously been deported,” the controller claimed.  “A system like this should put a stop to that.”

Trafficking concerns

The Maldives last month featured in the US State Department’s Tier Two Watch List for Human Trafficking for the third year in a row.

Having “not demonstrated evidence of increasing efforts to address human trafficking over the previous year”, the country only narrowly avoided a descent to Tier 3 – the worst category – after presenting a written plan on its commitments, claimed a corresponding US State Department report.

According to the report, implementation of the government’s written plan, “would constitute making significant efforts to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.”

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

High Court orders police to investigate allegations made to ACC regarding High Court judge

An ongoing legal dispute between the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Malaysian mobile security solutions provider Nexbis escalated this week, after the High Court ordered police to investigate claims made to the ACC that Chief Judge of the High Court Ahmed Shareef met officials from the company in Bangkok.

The dispute concerns the deployment of a border control system, specifically the installation of an electronic border gate system in Male’s Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), bringing technological upgrades such as facial recognition, fingerprint identification and e-gates to the Maldives.

The project stalled after the ACC alleged corruption in the bidding process, leading to a ongoing series of high-profile court battles.

In May 2012 the project was brought to a standstill by a High Court injunction and a raid on immigration offices by ACC staff. At the time the Rf 10 million (US$650,000) first phase of the border control project had been completed, according to local media reports.

Nexbis has threatened legal action against the Maldivian government should it incur losses for the work already done on the project, and earlier this month filed a case with against the ACC accusing it of breaching article 141 of the constitution, stipulating non-interference in judicial matters by public officials, and article 42, entitling the company to a fair trial.

The Supreme Court in late June meanwhile dismissed the High Court’s injunction against the continuation of the project, on the basis that the bench overseeing the case had been unlawfully reconstituted. Immigration Controller Dr Mohamed Ali told local media at the time that the department was trying to interpret the order, which he contended “doesn’t make sense”,

In the most recent development Nexbis denied allegations – submitted to the ACC and published in Haveeru – that Chief Judge Ahmed Shareef had returned home from a conference in Singapore after spending a week in Bangkok, where he was alleged to have met Nexbis representatives.

Nexbis denied that any such meeting took place, and this week filed a case in a bid to stop the ACC from publicly sharing information on the investigation while the matter was in court, and seeking an apology for the damage to its reputation.

Asking police to investigate the allegations made to the ACC, the High Court meanwhile stressed in a statement this week that “no individual Judge can simply influence a decision of the Court, as all cases at the High Court are presided by a minimum three Judges bench and a ruling is only made by the majority of a particular bench.”

The accusations sent to the ACC were an “extremely irresponsible act with intentions to deceive and manipulate the truth,” the Court’s statement read.

The Court contended that the ACC’s investigation of the judge would amount to a conflict of interest, as the ACC was investigating a case it had itself filed in court.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)

Supreme Court ruling on Nexbis “doesn’t make sense”: Immigration controller

The case concerning the Nexbis border control system has grown increasingly complex this week after the Supreme Court deemed that the High Court bench which had ordered work on the project to be stopped had been unlawfully reconstituted, thereby nullifying its decision.

Reports in the local media say that the recently appointed Immigration Controller Mohamed Ali intends to seek his own legal guidance on the Supreme Court’s decision, claiming that he can make no sense of the decision.

“We don’t have a lawyer. I’m not a lawyer either. I can’t make any sense of it. Hence I’m trying to make sense of the Supreme Court’s order,” Ali told Haveeru.

The nullified decision relates to the High Court’s order to halt any further work being completed on the project whilst the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) appealed a ruling from the Civil Court that it could not order the termination of the project.

Local media have referred to the Supreme Court’s order as a ‘Mandamus’. Often termed a ‘writ of mandate’, this kind of order instructs a governmental body to perform an act required by law when it has neglected or refused to do so.

Meanwhile, Haveeru has reported that the ACC intends to investigate the relationship between Cheif Judge Ahmed Shareef and officials from the Nexbis company, after receiving a letter alleging a meeting in Bangkok.

Shareef was dismissed from the bench during aforementioned reconstitution deemed illegal by the Supreme Court.

The Immigration Controller told Haveeru that the project cannot move forward until legal experts have reviewed the latest decision by the Supreme Court.

Likes(0)Dislikes(0)