The board of Fuel Supply Maldives (FSM), a subsidiary of the State Trading Organization (STO), has pressured several long-serving senior officials into retirement.
According to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity, the heads of three departments had retired in the past few days.
They are Admin Station Head Mohamed Saeed, Engineering Head Shamiu Ali and Human Resource Head Fathimath Shaila. Shamiu and Shaila have been working at FSM for more than 22 years.
The source told Adhadhu that the board asked Saeed to resign because they had decided to dissolve the department. Shamiu and Shaila were told to resign or be dismissed.
Before the notice came from the board, the three officials were pressured with threats of dismissal. The threats started with the new management of FSM following President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's assumption of office in late 2023.
Under the employment agreements of the heads of FSM departments, the company's board has the power to dismiss them, unlike other employees. They retired after the board announced that they would be dismissed if they did not resign.
STO's media officer Yoosuf Shah told Adhadhu that three officials left their posts after choosing a retirement package agreed upon by both parties.
Meanwhile, FSM's former Managing Director Ismail Suhail resigned in November after the board began the process of dismissing him.
Suhail resigned amid an investigation into FSM employees suspected of stealing fuel from the company and laundering the money gained from selling the fuel.
When asked if there was any connection between Suhail's resignation and the resignation of the department heads, the source said Suhail had also pressured them to resign. The source did not have detailed information.
The investigation into the suspected oil theft and money laundering is still ongoing. Several FSM employees were sacked after police initiated the investigation.
One suspect is the captain of an FSM oil barge who had circulated more than MVR 21 million through his account within a short period.
