The Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) has ruled out corruption in the procurement of 21 vehicles for the 17th SAARC Summit held in the southernmost Atoll Addu City in 2011.
ACC had investigated claims of possible graft flagged in the audit report. The report noted that MVR1.4 million was spent on the procurement of 21 vehicles for the 2011 summit.
The audit report said the rates were well over the normal daily or hourly rent rates for vehicles.
The report also said that it was not immediately clear if the vehicles rented were indeed used for the summit, or the duration of use.
ACC however, said the vehicles were hired after a bidding process and noted the absence of a fixed rate for renting of vehicles designated by the Addu City Council.
The investigation also revealed that the providers of vehicles had increased their rates due to increased demand during the time when the SAARC Summit was set to take place, and that the providers of the vehicles had been paid after the end of the summit.
An agreement had been signed before renting the vehicles and the amount paid was in accordance of the pre-signed agreement, ACC said.
However, the ACC report also highlighted some discrepancies found by the original audit, such as the lack of documentation of the travels carried out by the vehicles. The ACC report noted that there was no proof of any wrongdoing but flagged the Addu City council's failure to look into the corruption allegations.
