Pioneer Maldives and Island Health Solutions, which provided extensive PCR testing services during the COVID-19 pandemic, have been charged with tax fraud, along with Dr. Ikleel Shareef and Dr. Ali Abdulla Latheef, linked to the two companies.

The two companies, Ikleel Shareef and Ali Abdulla Latheef are charged with intentional evasion of tax returns for the years 2020 to 2022.

Ikleel is the majority shareholder of the two companies. He was charged with five counts of intentional tax evasion, while Ali Latheef, who owns 50 percent of Island Health Solutions, was charged with three counts of intentional tax evasion.

The prosecution has decided to ask the court to impose the maximum sentence prescribed by the law if they are convicted.

Island Health Solution has been charged with three counts of tax evasion, as well as obstruction of law enforcement and other state functions.

In addition, Pioneer Maldives has been charged with two counts of intentional tax evasion.

The two companies are accused of intentionally evading taxes worth MVR 20.20 million, and the prosecution had decided to ask the court to impose a fine of MVR 40.40 million, twice the amount of tax allegedly evaded.

The media official for the Prosecutor General's (PG) Office told Adhadhu that Pioneer Maldives and Island Health Solutions generated a large amount of revenue during the three years of the pandemic.

Pioneer Maldives paid MVR 43.17 million as land acquisition cost to the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) for the purchase of an island for resort development. It was paid by the company less than two years after its incorporation and without any further credit arrangement, the media official said.

MIRA launched its investigation after it was found that two companies that had been at the forefront of providing the PCR testing service during the peak demand had grossly underreported their taxable income.

In connection with the investigation, MIRA has ordered Island Health Solutions to pay an additional amount of MVR 4.3 million and Pioneer Maldives an additional MVR 23.7 million as taxes.