A report prepared by the central bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) has revealed that the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) got funds through Fenaka Corporation for last year’s parliamentary election campaign.
The report, which has been leaked on social media, contains financial transactions between Fenaka and Kengo Private Limited. Adhadhu has confirmed the authenticity of the report.
The Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) covers the period from January 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024. During the period, Fenaka issued MVR 37 million to Kengo under 47 transactions.
Seventeen of these transactions were flagged as suspicious by the FIU. The funds were issued to Kengo under agreements signed with Fenaka in 2022 and 2023.
On April 17, 2024, three days before the parliamentary elections, Kengo received MVR 2,466,955 from Fenaka. The money was sent via internet banking at around 2:00 am. The STR noted that the money was immediately transferred to other accounts upon receipt.
In addition, D&V Investment Private Limited received MVR 9,804,240 through two transactions on April 16 and sent some of the money to Kengo.
D&V Investment is owned by Kolamaafushi MP Ibrahim Didi and his wife Ihusana Shareef. The company sent MVR 150,000 to Kengo in five transactions, amounting to a total of MVR 750,000. The money was sent on April 16 and 17.
Kengo transferred the money to different accounts. They include the accounts of close family members of sitting MPs. A recent audit report mentioned that Didi's company had signed agreements with Fenaka in violation of the rules.
Kengo Private Limited
There are three shareholders in the company. They are Aminath Saniyya Shareef with 50 percent stake, Salah Shareef with 25 percent stake and Ahmed Hashim with 25 percent stake. Salah is a board member of Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO).
Kengo has not registered any business activities on the Economic Ministry's business portal. It is involved in retailing and wholesaling generators. The company has three employees and has declared revenue of MVR 16 million annually.
The company is the exclusive distributor of Sempra Electric Pvt Ltd of India. Kengo sent USD 618,722 to the company. However, import records show that both Kengo and Sempra imported goods worth less than MVR 300,000 during the period.
The FIU's STR noted that the company's financial transactions are questionable when compared to its imports and revenue.
The FIU alleges that some of the money sent by Fenaka to Kengo was used for the parliamentary election campaign. The report notes that none of the money allocated was used for economic activity and the recipients included people with close ties to the government.
According to the recently released Fenaka audit report, agreements worth MVR 19,456,100 were signed with Kengo in violation of rules from 2021 to 2023. The money was released to the company while the audit report was being prepared.
One of the shareholders, Salah, contributed to President Mohamed Muizzu's presidential election campaign. According to the Elections Commission (EC) records, Salah spent MVR 2.8 million on the campaign.
When Adhadhu questioned Salah, he denied the information in the audit report and insisted that his company had not signed any agreement with Fenaka outside the public tender process.
