More than MVR 5 million was spent from the state budget for the Maldives Sports Awards held by the Sports Ministry in October.
The expenditure for the Maldives Sports Awards was disclosed after an individual filed a request under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
According to the information disclosed by the Sports Ministry, MVR 5,249,038 was spent on the Maldives Sports Awards held on October 18.
Two companies were paid to make arrangements for the awards. They were Encore Holdings and Official Events owned by Baarashu MP Ibrahim Shujau.
MVR 4.4 million was paid to Official Events to manage the awards ceremony. These include the initial payment of MVR 3.82 million and MVR 578,032 after the ceremony was postponed and the venue was changed.
The Sports Awards were originally scheduled for July 4, but it was postponed indefinitely on June 29. The stage for the ceremony was prepared at the Hulhumale' Synthetic Track when the postponement was announced. The Sports Ministry paid an additional MVR 578,032 to the ruling party MP's company to relocate the equipment to set up the stage.
MVR 845,106 was paid to Encore Holdings to prepare the trophies for the award ceremony.
The annual Maldives Sports Awards ceremony was launched by former Sports Minister Ahmed Mahloof. The former government invited internationally renowned sports stars to attend the ceremony. Even at the time, the public complained that millions were spent from the state budget on the ceremony.
This year's awards were held at the Social Center in Male' without inviting any foreign celebrities.
