Audit finds vehicles purchased for DJA were bought at inflated prices

Auditor General's Office has revealed that vehicles purchased by Department of Judicial Administration (DJA) three years ago were bought at inflated prices.

The department announced in 2016 seeking to purchase three cars of Nissan's March model, and Toyota Hiace van. While the vehicles cost over MVR3 million, the Audit Office commenced a special audit into the transactions.

Their findings show that the three cars were bought for MVR 1.4 million through a private company, while the van was purchased for MVR1.69 million.

The report noted that the cars were purchased for three times what it usually costs, while the price of the van was inflated six times.

While a van of the same model can be purchased for MVR260,000, the maximum price of a car of the model purchased by DJA costs MVR 190,000, the report said.

The Public Finance Act mandates for transactions above MVR 1.5 million to go through the Tender Board. However, the purchase of the van for MVR1.69 million was not submitted at the Tender Board, the report identified.

The audit report further said the vehicles purchased by DJA had been imported to Maldives long before it was purchased, and that the time period granted to handover the vehicles was extended unnecessarily with no apparent reason, and against policies, said the audit report.

Although the van was received by DJA before June 8, 2017, the vehicle was used only twice between then and August 2019, the report noted.

The report concluded that the vehicles were bought at inflated prices , and recommended to take action against those responsible for the transaction.