nexbis – Page 4 – Minivan News

Controller of Immigration Ilyas transferred to Defence Ministry

Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim has been replaced as the Controller of Immigration and Emigration by Dr Mohamed Ali, who has been serving as Chief of Staff at the President’s Office.

Ilyas was on Thursday appointed as Minister of State for Defense and National Security.

Ilyas is currently under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in relation to the awarding of the contract for a new border control system to the Malaysian firm Nexbis. The ACC told Minivan News that the case has been forwarded to the Prosecutor General’s (PG) office.

The Nexbis case intensified this week as ACC officials raided the offices of the Immigration Department, eventually seizing laptops after alleged obstruction by department staff.

Former Immigration Controller Abdullah Shahid again voiced his disapproval of the project on Thursday. Shahid, who served between Ilyas’s two stints as controller, has been a long-time critic of the deal.

Shahid questioned the expense of the project, alleging that a free system could have been acquired with assistance from the Indian government, according to local newspaper Haveeru.

“A group of Indian experts had come to the Maldives and conducted and completed their surveys in a month’s time. If I was controller today everything would have been installed by now. Let me tell you something. Those experts from India would not even have to be given a cup of coffee on the expense of the Maldivian government,” Shahid told Haveeru.

It emerged last week that the first of three phases in implementing the Nexbis project had been completed, despite repeated delays pending court rulings.

However, Shahid insisted that no work had been carried out during his time as controller.

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Immigration Offices raided by ACC; investigators allege intimidation

The offices of the Department of Immigration and Emigration were raided by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) officials with assistance from police after the granting of a court order.

The seeking of a court order followed thwarted efforts by the ACC earlier in the day to gain access to the immigration department’s offices across the greater Male’ area.

The ACC confiscated around 75 laptops, reports Haveeru, which had allegedly been given to staff as part of a Rf500 million (US$32 million) deal with the Malaysian company Nexbis to develop a new border control system in the Maldives.

According to Sun Online, the ACC has this morning filed a case against the Immigration Department alleging that its staff were intimidated whilst attempting to conduct their investigations.

ACC Vice President Muavviz Rasheed stated that investigators were locked in the building and that the lights and the air conditioning were turned off.

“It is a crime to obstruct ACC in its efforts to carry out its responsibilities. There are punishments for this. So we will take action according to the law. We will not be silent when people attempt to dishonour our authority in this manner,” ACC Vice President Muavviz Rasheed told Sun.

Assistant Controller of the Immigration Department Ibrahim Ashraf told Minivan News today that this intimidation did not happen, rather that the incident alluded to by Muavviz occurred when ACC investigators attempted to remain in the building past the office’s working hours.

“They wanted to stay in the building past the end of working hours – we have been instructed not to do any overtime because of financial constraints. This resulted in havoc,” said Ashraf.

Ashraf said that he had spoken to the person responsible for locking the building at the end of each day and had been assured that the doors had not been locked with ACC employees inside.

Ashraf stated that the ACC had attempted to search the offices without first obtaining a court order and without informing immigration staff. In addition he said that the ACC wished to search employees’ personal lockers.

He said that the ACC had eventually been granted a the court order at midnight, after which its investigators returned to the Velanaage headquarters.

It was at this point that the ACC confiscated the majority of the laptops which Ahsraf stated were part of the Nexbis project. He added, however, that the new Nexbis software was not yet installed on the confiscated computers.

Ashraf also stated that the ACC visited the residence of a senior department figure at around 5:00am to confiscate a laptop after the court order had expired.

The ACC began to investigate the bidding process by which the deal had been awarded soon after it was announce that Nexbis had won the tender in November 2010.

In late 2011, the commission forwarded cases against the Immigration Controller Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim and Director General of the Finance Ministry Saamee Ageel, to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG), alleging that the pair had abused their authority for undue financial gain in granting the contract to Nexbis.

After the ACC ordered work on the project halted, the Civil Court ruled that the commission did not have the authority to make such an order. The ACC subsequently challenged this ruling in the High Court.

The ACC President Hassan Luthfee told Minivan News last week that a decision was anticipated by the end of May. He hoped the High Court would “delineate” the role of the ACC.

Both the President and Vice President of the ACC were unavailable for comment at the time of press.

Clarification on the powers of the ACC would alleviate confusion which has also arisen in the Thilafushi-Heavy Load reclamation project.

Heavy Load, a company run by the family of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Interim Chairman Moosa ‘Reeko’ Manik, came under the ACC’s radar after similar complaints regarding this project’s tender process.

Moosa claimed at the time that the ACC was not politically impartial. At a press conference today, MDP Deputy Chairperson Mohamed ‘Inthi’ Imthiyaz was asked about yesterday’s raid, responding: “A series of mini-coups follow coup d’etat. I believe this is one of those mini-coups”.

Last week, details emerged that the first phase of the Nexbis project had been completed even as legal issues remained unresolved.

This first phase had reportedly involved a significant financial outlay by the company, which has previously threatened legal action should it incur losses as a result of delays to the project.

In the preceding week, the High Court had ordered an injunction halting any further work on the project pending the outcome of the ACC’s appeal on the Civil Court ruling.

Assistant Controller Ashraf expressed his concern that hindrances to the new border control system will have ramifications that go far beyond political turf-wars.

“Whoever is doing this to jeopardise the image of the Immigration Department needs to understand that the consequences may be disastrous. I don’t want the Maldives to become another Bali or Mumbai,” he said.

“They can take action against corruption and let the border control project continue. We are becoming a weak spot in the region. I have serious concerns.”

“We have a population of 300,000 which includes 100,000 foreigners. We have to be sure that they do not have criminal records, that they are not fugitives hiding in paradise,” added Ashraf.

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Nexbis project one third completed despite ACC’s legal effort

Despite the legal complications surrounding the deal, the Nexbis border control project has completed its first phase, with Rf10 million’s (US$650,000) worth of installation work having been finished, according to Sun Online.

The project involves 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.

Assistant Controllerof the Department of Immigration and Emigration Ibrahim Ashraf confirmed to Minivan News that “the first phase is, to a certain extent, finished.”

The Rf500 million (US$39 million) deal had been brought to standstill by the High Court earlier this month in the latest in a series of delays which have led the Malaysian firm to threaten legal action against the Maldivian government should it incur losses for the work already done on the project.

Sun reported a source as saying that there were three phases in the contract with Nexbis. The second phase involves the installation of further systems for an online visa service while the third phase would include improving passport mechanism services.

The deal ran into trouble soon after it was awarded in 2010, with the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) demanding the project be terminated and re-tendered, citing allegations of corruption in the bidding process.

Legal suit was filed in November 2011 after the government decided to begin work on the project against the ACC’s advice. The subsequent decision by the Civil Court was that the ACC did not have the authority to order the Department of Immigration and Emigration to stop the project.

Subsequent appeals to the High Court earlier this month resulted in an injunction against any further work until the case had been resolved. At the time, the ACC had expressed concern that the project could be completed before the conclusion of the High Court case.

Ashraf said that staff training for the new system was planned for May 10 but had been cancelled due to the injunction.

Hassan Luthfee, President of the ACC, said that the commission had not investigated into the work’s current progress but believed the work on the first phase had been completed prior to the High Court injunction, as did Ashraf. Luthfee said the ACC had appealed to the court to “delineate” the role of the ACC and expected a verdict by the end of this month.

According to the Anti-Corruption Act (Act No. 13/2008) under which the ACC was established, following any inquiry and investigation the commission is empowered to forward the case to the Prosecutor General for prosecution. It is also granted the power to order the institution in question to correct any failures in management that may have led to corrupt practices.

Part of the roles and responsibilities of the ACC, as defined in the constitution, is “to perform any additional duties or functions specifically provided by law for the prevention of corruption.” The ACC’s objections to the Nexbis deal were based on its belief that the bidding process was flawed.

A source at the immigration department at the time of the ACC’s initial complaint in 2010 claimed that it was the finance ministry which evaluated all the bids. The same source also argued that the desire within the ACC to stop the project could have been politically motivated.

The ACC filed a suit against the Home Ministry in January, citing “unlawful practices” in the tender process while evaluating bids to set up partitions in the ministry’s office.

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High Court issues injunction halting Nexbis project pending outcome of ACC appeal

The High court has issued an injunction temporarily halting the roll out of the Nexbis border control system, pending the outcome of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC’s) appeal against a Civil Court ruling that the ACC did not have the authority to halt the project.

The ACC in a hearing last week had requested an injunction, however Judge Azmirelda Zahir stated that such a decision could only be taken after both sides had presented their cases. The ACC had expressed concern that the project could be completed before the conclusion of the High Court case.

Immigration Controller Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim said he would not comment on the matter and referred Minivan News to Deputy Contoller Ibrahim Ashraf, who was not responding at time of press.

The case was delayed last week after the High Court ruled that Deputy Solicitor General Ahmed Usham could not represent the state in the case, as he had been a member of the tender evaluation board that had awarded the contract to Nexbis.

The case concerns a 20-year Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) agreement with the Malaysia-based mobile security solutions provider to upgrade border security in the Maldives with new technology including facial recognition and fingerprint identification, facilitating the identification and tracking of expatriate workers and eliminating the opportunity for people to enter the country with forged paper documents.

The ACC had earlier ordered a halt to the project following the signing of the contract in October 2010, announcing that it had received “a serious complaint” regarding “technical details” of the bid, and that the agreement presented “instances and opportunities” for corruption.

In December 2011, the Commission forwarded corruption cases against former – and now reappointed – Controller Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim, and Director General of the Finance Ministry, Saamee Ageel, to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG), alleging that the pair had abused their authority for undue financial gain in granting the contract to Nexbis.

On February 16 Illyas confirmed that the department would proceed with the border control project as there was no “legal obstruction”. He disputed the claims of corruption and insisted that the project was awarded to Nexbis through a transparent international bidding process.

The agreement stipulates that Nexbis will levy a fee of Rf30 (US$2) from arriving and departing passengers in exchange for installing, maintaining and upgrading its immigration system. The company would also charge a Rf231 (US$15) for every work permit card.

Former Immigration Controller Abdulla Shahid has contended that this would deprive the Maldives of US$200 million in revenue over the life of the 20 year contract. Comparing Nexbis’ earnings to the government’s estimated revenue of US$10 million, Shahid proposed the government instead maximize its income by operating a system given by a donor country: “Border control is not something we are unable to comprehend,” he suggested.

Minivan News reported on February 16 that Nexbis had filed a case in the Civil Court seeking Rf 669 million (US$43 million) in damages from Shahid, alleging that its reputation had been tarnished by negative media coverage.

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High Court denies ACC injunction as commission appeals Civil Court ruling on Nexbis

The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) has appealed a ruling from the Civil Court blocking its order to halt the implementation of a border control system agreement between the Immigration department and Malaysian firm Nexbis.

The commission also called for an injunction on the installation of the system until the High Court case was resolved, however Judge Azmirelda Zahir said such a decision could only be taken after both sides had presented their cases. The ACC requested an injunction on the grounds that it would lose the possibility of appeal should the project be implemented before the conclusion of the High Court case.

The ACC in December forwarded corruption cases against former – and now reappointed – Immigration Controller Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim and Director General of the Finance Ministry, Saamee Ageel, to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG), alleging that the pair had abused their authority for undue financial gain in giving the US$39 million to Nexbis.

The 20-year Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) agreement with the Malaysian-based mobile security solutions provider was to upgrade border security in the Maldives with new technology including facial recognition and fingerprint identification, facilitating the identification and tracking of expatriate workers and eliminating the opportunity to people to enter the country with forged paper documents.

The agreement allows Nexbis to levy a fee of Rf30 (US$2) from arriving and departing passengers in exchange for installing, maintaining and upgrading its immigration system. The company would also charge a Rf231 (US$15) for every work permit card.

Immigration Controller under the later months of President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration, Abdulla Shahid, contended that the agreement meant that Nexbis would draw US$200 million in revenue from the project over the life of the 20 year contract, while five percent royalties to the government would equate to US$10 million.

Speaking to Minivan News following the ACC’s initial injunction, Shahid claimed that the deal would deprive the government of significant revenues, when “border control is not something we are unable to comprehend – it is a normal thing all over the world.”

Shahid estimated that a free system given by a donor country would cost at most several hundred thousand dollars a year, and said he was unsure as to why such an agreement had ever been signed.

However, Nexbis said in a subsequent statement that its agreement meant that neither the government nor the Maldivian public would pay upfront for “state-of-the-art border security protection”, and suggested that “reasonable persons will likely realise that once the hidden costs after are taken into account and adjusted for inflation, the benefits and efficiencies of the Nexbis system will far outweigh the risk, inadequacies and uncertainties of any such alleged cheaper system.”

The Civil Court in January 2012 ruled that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) did not have the legal authority to order Immigration Department to terminate the agreement, with Judge Ali Rasheed ruling that while the ACC Act gave the commission the authority to investigate corruption cases, it was not able to annul contracts.

Judge Rasheed asserted that it was “unfair” to the contractors if ACC could annul an agreement without their input, as this violated their protections under Maldives Contract Law.

During the High Court hearing this week, the ACC charged that the State Attorney during the Civil Court case, Deputy Solicitor General Ahmed Usham, had a conflict of interest as he had been a member of the tender board responsible for awarding the project to Nexbis. Usham disputed the charge.

The case continues.

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Nexbis sues Shahid, while reappointed former controller decides to continue Nexbis agreement

Department of Immigration and Emigration has decided to proceed with the stalled border control system contracted to Malaysia’s Nexbis Limited. Meanwhile, Nexbis has filed a lawsuit at the Civil Court seeking Rf 669 million (US$43 million) in damages from the former Immigration Controller Abdulla Shahid.

The first hearing of the case, scheduled for Wednesday, was cancelled.

According to the lawsuit, Nexbis alleged Shahid refused to proceed with the project despite court approval and spread false information regarding the agreement to the media, tarnishing Nexbis’ global reputation.

Nexbis claims that misleading media coverage adversely affected its global operations – the company suffered a drop in share prices when the Maldives Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) raised concerns of corruption, costing Nexbix AUD$39.9 million (Rf669 million).

Nexbis has now requested the court to recover the damages and the cost of its lawsuit from Shahid.

Speaking to Minivan News, Shahid refused to be held personally accountable to any decisions of the Immigration Department.

“I don’t have to take personal responsibility. When I was at Immigration I did hear about the case and had requested it to be forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office,” Shahid observed.

The 20-year Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) agreement to upgrade the Maldives’ border control security system, valuing US$39 million (Rf600 million), was signed with Nexbis by Shahid’s predecessor, Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim – who was reappointed to the post last week by President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, following the ousting of former president Mohamed Nasheed on February 7.

The day after the concessionaire contract was signed, ACC announced it had received “a serious complaint” regarding “technical details” of the bid, and issued an injunction pending an investigation into the agreement citing “instances and opportunities” where corruption may have occurred.

Nexbis shares immediately plunged 6.3 percent on the back of the ACC’s announcement. The company subsequently issued a statement claiming that speculation over corruption was “politically motivated” and had “wrought irreparable damage to Nexbis’ reputation and brand name.”

“Nexbis’ shareholders own and manage multi-trillion dollar assets globally and will not jeopardise their reputation for an investment return,” the company said at the time.

Claiming financial loss Nexbis subsequently threatened legal action over the stalled border agreement, prompting the cabinet to resume the project after reviewing the existing agreement with Nexbis to address the concerns raised by the department.

In December 2011, the ACC forwarded a corruption case against Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim, then head of the Center for Disaster Management, and Director General of the Finance Ministry Saamee Ageel to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG). The ACC claimed the pair had abused their authority for undue financial gain in the Nexbis deal.

Meanwhile, the ACC requested the project be re-tendered with the consent of the cabinet. However, the cabinet decided to continue the project with Nexbis after revising the agreement.

ACC attempted gain a legal injunction against the move, but failed as the civil court ruled in January 2012 that ACC cannot order to terminate the Nexbis agreement.

Speaking to Minivan News today Immigration Controller Ibrahim confirmed that the department will continue the border control project as there is no “legal obstruction”.

“I have decided to continue all the works including the border control system project, as there is no legal obstruction,” Ilyas observed.

Ilyas had steadily disputed the claims of corruption and insisted that the project was awarded to Nexbis through a transparent international bidding process.

However, in earlier interviews with Minivan News, Shahid expressed concern over both the cost and necessity of the project, calculating that as tourist arrivals continue to grow Nexbis would earn US$200 million in revenue over the project’s 20-year lifespan.

Comparing Nexbis’ earnings to the government’s estimated revenue of US$10 million, Shahid suggested the government instead maximize its income by operating a system given by a donor country.

“Border control is not something we are unable to comprehend – it is a normal thing all over the world,” Shahid told Minivan News at the time. “There is no stated cost of the equipment Nexbis is installing – we don’t know how much it is costing to install, only how much we have to pay. We need to get everything out in the open.”

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ACC cannot terminate Nexbis agreement, court rules

The Civil Court has ruled that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) does not have the legal authority to order the Department of Immigration and Emigration to terminate the border control system contracted to Malaysia’s Nexbis Limited in November 2010.

ACC filed a court case against the Rf500 million (US$39 million) Nexbis system in November 2011, two days after cabinet decided to resume the project.

The cabinet’s decision contradicted ACC’s earlier command to terminate the existing agreement with Nexbis and re-tender the project with the cabinet’s consent.

In December, the ACC forwarded a corruption cases against former Immigraiton Controller Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim and Director General of Finance Ministry, Saamee Ageel to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG), claiming the pair had abused their authority for undue financial gain in awarding the Nexbis project.

However, in Sunday’s hearing Judge Ali Rasheed ruled that the ACC Act clearly allows the commission to investigate corruption cases, but does not give ACC legal authority to issue an order which can annul a formal agreement signed between one or more parties.

He asserted that it is “unfair” to the contractors if ACC can annul an agreement without the contractors’ say, adding that such a decision violates the protection granted to the contractors under the Maldives Law of Contract.

Following the court’s ruling, Immigration Controller Abdulla Shahid told Minivan News that the ruling is subjected to the ACC and it does not directly relate to the department.

He noted that it is too soon to say how the department will proceed with the project.

“We have not even received the documents. We will look into the matter legally,” Shahid said, adding that the court’s decision does not does indicate whether the agreement with Nexbis is “good”.

The Maldives currently receives three times its population of 350,000 in tourist arrivals each year. It has lately begun addressing a rise in human trafficking.

The day after the October 2010 signing of the concessionaire contract, ACC announced it had received “a serious complaint” regarding “technical details” of the bid, and issued an injunction pending an investigation into the agreement citing “instances and opportunities” where corruption may have occurred.

After the investigation, the commission deemed the procedure of awarding the project to Nexbis was corrupt, and ordered the Immigration department to terminate the project.

“Nexbis’ shareholders own and manage multi-trillion dollar assets globally and will not jeopardise their reputation for an investment return,” the company said at the time.

In earlier interviews with Minivan News, Shahid had expressed concern over both the cost and necessity of the project, calculating that as tourist arrivals continue to grow Nexbis would earn US$200 million in revenue over the project’s 20-year lifespan.

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

“Border control is not something we are unable to comprehend – it is a normal thing all over the world,” Shahid told Minivan News at the time.“There is no stated cost of the equipment Nexbis is installing – we don’t know how much it is costing to install, only how much we have to pay. We need to get everything out in the open.”

Shahid estimates that maintaining a free system given by a donor country would cost at most several hundred thousand dollars a year, and said he was unsure as to why such an agreement had ever been signed.

However, Nexbis said in a statement that neither the government nor the Maldivian public have to pay in exchange for a state-of-the-art border security protection and suggested that “reasonable persons will likely realise that once the hidden costs after are taken into account and adjusted for inflation, the benefits and efficiencies of the Nexbis system will far outweigh the risk, inadequacies and uncertainties of any such alleged cheaper system.”

Nexbis also said it had agreed to review the government’s additional requirements, “and have expressed our willingness to accommodate any such changes within commercially viable terms.”

“While this requires some changes to the solution we ultimately provide, it is within the scope of our agreement to accommodate these changes,” the company said.

Meanwhile, yesterday’s court’s ruling set a precedent on the question raised by some legal experts on whether ACC has the authority to halt or terminate a government project agreement.

Civil court is hearing a similar case against the ACC by Thilafushi Corporation Limited (TCL), which contested the legality of ACC’s decision to halt the US$21 million reclamation project awarded to Heavy Load Maldives, owned by MDP Chairperson Reeko Moosa Manik, on suspicion of corruption.

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ACC fowards Nexbis case to Prosecutor General

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has forwarded corruption cases against Former Controller Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim and Director General of Finance Ministry, Saamee Ageel to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG) .

The ACC alleged the pair had abused their authority for undue financial gain in giving the US$39 million Border Control System project to Malaysia’s Nexbis Limited.

The border control agreement was signed on November 17, 2010. However the upgrade stalled earlier this year when the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) expressed concerns about the deal, claiming that there were “opportunities for corruption” during the bidding process.

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Cabinet passes, ACC challenges Nexbis border control system

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a court case against the Rf500 million Border Control System proposed by the Department of Immigration and Emigration and signed by the government in November 2010.

Malaysia’s Nexbis Limited has been contracted to develop the system.

ACC’s case follows yesterday’s Cabinet decision to resume the border control programme with Nexbis. ACC has not revealed details of the case, and had not responded to inquiries at time of press.

Officials close to the matter said corruption was a concern. Earlier this year, the ACC had asked the government to halt program proceedings on suspicion of corruption during the bidding process.

Immigration Controller Abdulla Shahid told Minivan News that the government maintains its aim to launch the system after Eid festivities and SAARC events have been concluded this month.

“It is common in most developed and developing countries to have an electronic border control system, such as this one,” said Shahid, noting that Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand had already subscribed to similar programs.

Immigration Department had signed a 20-year build, operate, and transfer (BOT) concession contract with Nexbis on October 17, 2010 when the ACC requested the department adjourn the signing ceremony due to a “serious” public complaint.

President Mohamed Nasheed upheld the ACC’s request in January 2011, and in late May the Cabinet deliberated the matter and approved the programme, overruling the ACC’s reservations.

However, operations were stalled and in August, Nexbis threatened legal action against the Maldives’ Immigration Department if action on the border control agreement was not taken. The company had allegedly bought equipment and paid import duties to the government, and was incurring losses while waiting for a resolution from the Maldivian government.

The Rf500 million project would install 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, which has struggled with loose immigration policies and reports of human trafficking.

The Maldives currently holds a 10-year contract for passport production and scanning services with an Austrian company, Shahid said.

Local media has reported that the Nexbis program does not include the expected technological upgrades including automated facial recognition, e-gates and passport production. Shahid confirmed today that those features are included in the program.

“The Nexbis system would make the immigration and security process simpler and more secure for everyone involved,” he said.

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