Two Convicted in MVR 28.3 Million MPL Fuel Embezzlement Case

Two individuals have been convicted and sentenced to prison for their role in the embezzlement of diesel worth MVR 28.3 million from Maldives Ports Limited (MPL). The Criminal Court sentenced the accused, Mohamed Aiman and a Bangladeshi national named Sojib, to eight years in prison for embezzlement. They were also ordered to pay MVR 6.7 million in compensation to the state. The case involved the loss of millions of liters of fuel between 2018 and 2020. Aiman, who was the Chief Manager of the Procurement Department at MPL at the time, signed delivery notes claiming that 783,100 liters of fuel had been received by MPL, resulting in MVR 6.7 million being paid to Fuel Supply Maldives (FSM). Sojib, a driver in FSM's fuel bunker department, prepared 119 fraudulent delivery notes for transactions involving the delivery of fuel to MPL. In addition to the embezzlement charges, both men were sentenced to nine months and 18 days in prison for producing a false document with the intention to deceive. Despite the convictions, the money lost by MPL in the embezzlement has not yet been recovered. Regarding Aiman's dismissal from service, the High Court ruled that he did not need to be reinstated but ordered MPL to pay him compensation of one rupee within seven days.