An audit report has revealed that a project awarded by the Home Ministry to the Police Cooperative Society (POLCO) in November 2022—to construct a 50-cell high-security wing, 18 additional cells, and a security post at Maafushi Prison—was executed in a manner that caused financial loss to the state.
The Auditor General’s Office today released the compliance audit reports for the Home Ministry for the years 2022 and 2023. According to the report, the project was awarded through a single-source procurement process without a competitive bidding phase. POLCO was contracted for the work on November 24, 2022, for a total of MVR 45,485,435.
However, the audit found that POLCO subcontracted the entirety of the project’s scope to another private company. POLCO reportedly awarded the work to this subcontractor for just MVR 1,243,173.
The audit also highlighted discrepancies between the information provided in the project’s Bill of Quantities (BOQ) and the architectural drawings. It is believed that these inconsistencies led to the state making payments that were not legally or contractually required.
Furthermore, the BOQ included MVR 2,920,082 for the demolition and clearing of an existing structure at the site designated for the 50-cell wing. However, the audit noted that no such building existed on the site prior to the project being awarded to POLCO.
The audit report confirmed that while payment was issued for this demolition work, it amounted to MVR 2.9 million paid for a service that was never performed. The Auditor General’s Office has recommended that the matter be submitted to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) for further investigation.
