Former Vice Chief of Defense Force, Brigadier General (retd) Faruhath Shaheer, has been appointed as the CEO of the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO).

The Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB) announced his appointment on Wednesday.

Faruhath Shaheer was the Vice Chief of Defense Force when former President Mohamed Nasheed's government was overthrown in a mutiny.

He resigned from the post of Vice Chief of Defense Force following Nasheed's forced resignation in February 2012.

He served as the CEO of Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) during the government of former President Abdulla Yameen.

The current administration has been appointing former military and police officials to lead state-owned companies, including Fenaka and Maldives Ports Limited (MPL).

The post of MIFCO CEO became vacant after the dismissal of Dr. Vitaliy Lyubimov just three months after his appointment was announced.

PCB announced his dismissal on a post on X but did not provide a reason. He was the first foreign CEO of the state-owned fisheries company.

There are speculations that the government has put pressure on Vitaly due to his efforts to reduce political influence within MIFCO.

Three general managers who were running various departments of the company have also been sacked recently.

Their names were not disclosed, but MIFCO said the measure was taken under President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's reform agenda to strengthen the company.

MIFCO was established in 1993 following the Fisheries Projects Implementation Department (FPID) corruption scandal.