The 241 Committee (National Security Services Committee) has stated that the case of a cigarette shipment smuggled into the Maldives by sea is a major act of fraud carried out with planning. Regarding this case, Ahmed Nazim, the member for Dhiggaru constituency, said in the committee meeting held on Thursday that there are questionable aspects in some of the information shared by Customs, and therefore, further clarification of this information is needed.
He said that the case can only be concluded once these questions are answered. A case of smuggling 8,400 cartons or 84,000 packs of cigarettes on a private company’s oil tanker surfaced last October. It has been stated that there was no involvement of the company’s management in this case, and an internal investigation has also been initiated. Action has been taken against those involved in the case. While statements have been taken from the company’s crew regarding the case, the police are continuing their investigation.
In the committee meeting, Nazim said that according to the statement given to the committee by Customs, the cigarettes imported were fake. He also mentioned that when the original company importing that brand of cigarettes went to court, the items were kept in a bonded warehouse under a court order. He said that while this was done, it was also known that the shareholders of the company suspected of importing the cigarettes had been changed.
The company suspected of importing the cigarettes is called Exotic Enterprises.
“There’s a timeline sent by Customs. We notice that some information is missing from that timeline. There’s no date of when the shares were transferred. At a later date, Customs provided information that in the presence of [the new shareholders who later took over the company], the items were handed over to the shareholders,” he said. He added that the date of this occurrence is not known from the timeline, and it is also known that the company taken over by the new shareholders was billed 46 million rufiyaa. According to him, this was done with extensive planning.
“First, after importing the cigarettes and paying for them, when they were seized under a court order, the company’s shares were transferred. After transferring, the items in the bonded warehouse were sold illegally,” he said. He alleged that Customs only became aware of this when the 241 Committee of the Parliament informed them, and that this is a major criminal fraud. He said that further questions need to be asked from Customs to determine how this all started initially.
The committee decided today to investigate whether MACL (Maldives Airports Company Limited) had any involvement in the cigarette smuggling case and prepare a separate report, and to prepare another report on the financial transactions and the companies involved in it to be sent to the parliament floor. The committee also decided today to summon Home Minister Ali Ihsan, Police Commissioner Ali Shujau, and Customs Commissioner to obtain additional information needed for the case.
