Managing Director of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has revealed that the corporation is trying to reach an out of court agreement with Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) over the funds paid by MPL to MMPRC for the purchase of US dollars.
According to Auditor General's special report on MMPRC published in 2014, MPL agreed to pay MVR 77.1 million to MMPRC for currency exchange purposes.
MD Thoyyib said MMPRC has to pay MPL US$ 6.3 million for the amount. While US$ 778,000 has already been paid, US$ 5.5 million still remains pending, said Thoyyib.
Several discussions have taken place between Ministry of Finance and the disputing parties on resolving the issue in a bid to avoid litigation, said Thoyyib.
While MMPRC has admitted that the corporation does not have the financial capacity to pay MPL, the corporation wishes to pay MPL back as per Auditor General's advice, said Thoyyib.
"MPL wishes for us to pay them the funds. However, we do not have the required funds, so the government will have to pay the funds. In this case, one government company has to pay another. Therefore, we are now in discussion to seek a solution to this issue", said Thoyyib.
According to the 2014 audit report, corruption was involved in the currency exchange between MPL and MMPRC, and the state has to recover the funds owed to MPL, said the report. The Anti-Corruption Commission is currently investigating the case.
MMPRC's Managing Director Mohamed Thoyyib
