Maldives Transport and contracting Company (MTCC) has been accused of failing to settle outstanding payments to a Malaysian company after purchasing goods worth US$ 195,000 from the company.
MTCC bought a landing craft worth US$ 500,000 and a barge costing US$ 60,000 from a company named Borneo Ship Building and Contracting Company. Material needed for the repair and the maintenance of vessels worth US$ 195,650 were purchased by MTCC from the same company on credit. However, all attempts to communicate with MTCC after the goods were delivered have been unsuccessful, the company has revealed.
"Material were first supplied through a purchase order sent in after taking a quotation. We have all the delivery notes and other documents. After the goods were supplied, MTCC has not communicated with the company to date. All communication with Borneo was cut off the moment the goods were received. There has been zero response", informed Ahmed Naseer, the Maldivian agent who has been trying on behalf of the Malaysian company to arrange the due payments. Naseer was previously a board member of MTCC, and is a shareholder.
Naseer said the failure to contact MTCC resulted in Borneo company reaching out to the Maldives Embassy in Malaysia this July in an attempt to establish contact with the company. After the embassy contacted MTCC, they were informed that the company was working on settling the payment.
While MTCC had responded to the embassy's inquiry on July 15th, there has been no news since, said Naseer.
Naseer said MTCC's Chief Financial Officer Mohamed Hilmy was also contacted regarding the issue, who informed that the Borneo claim was in a 'dispute". When the CEO of the company Hassan Shah was contacted, he had blamed the failure of payment on not having an agreement between both parties.
"I told Hilmy that they should have communicated with the company and informed them even in the case of a dispute. I pointed out to [CEO] Shah that it was the responsibility of MTCC to make any required agreements before receiving the goods. All transactions [except payment] have been completed, and they have the signature of the CEO on them. Can there be a clearer agreement than this?", questioned Naseer.
"When we communicated through the Embassy, we were told the payment will be settled. CFO claims there is a dispute while the CEO is saying there is no agreement. We were given three different answers on three different occasions. They are not even communicating with the company and withholding payments", said Naseer.
Naseer said when the company threatened to go to the media, CEO of MTCC had stated that it was a better option as it would make clear the actions of the previous government. Naseer noted that while the transactions did not involve any corruption or deceit, the company stopped dealing with Borneo altogether.
According to the invoices exchanged between the two companies, an interest of 1.5% is charged for every month a payment is delayed. Until 22nd of September, an interest of US$ 26,235 has been accumulated.
AVAS spoke to MTCC CEO Ali Shah regarding the issue. He acknowledged receipt of the emails from Borneo, and said further information will be provided at a later time.
COO of MTCC, Shahid Hussain said while part of the payment of the maintenance supplies will be paid, the remainder is currently in a dispute. When asked why the company was not communicating with Borneo, Shahid said they were in contact with Borneo's Maldives agent Naseer. A document regarding the issue has been provided to the Foreign Ministry on their request, added Shahid. He did not reveal why MTCC was not in direct company with Borneo.
Recently, a similar case involving another Malaysian company and the government came to light. The Malaysian company has filed for arbitration against the Maldives government over outstanding payments for work done on a 25 story office building being constructed in reclaimed suburbs Hulhumale'.
