The government of Maldives has paid USD 18 million to Malaysian-based Nexbis Sdn Bhd as reparation for dissolving the agreement signed to establish a border control system in Maldives.
In a statement, Attorney General’s Office said it believes the Malaysian firm should be compensated as the agreement made with Maldives Immigration was dissolved in violation of the terms in the contract. Attorney General’s Office said the previous administration has failed to pay reparation to Nexbis despite several requests by the company.
The project to establish a border control system in Maldives was launched in 2010, during the presidency of Mohamed Nasheed. A 20-year contract was made with Nexbis at a cost of USD 38.8 million. A fee of USD 2 was to be charged from every foreigner entering and exiting Maldives, with a further USD 15 charged for each visa issue, according to the agreement with Nexbis.
However, citing the high amount Maldives will be paying for the Malaysian firm and noting the system is not adequate to Maldives, the agreement was dissolved in 2013, during the presidency of Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik.
Although Nexbis sought USD 272 million in reparation, the Singaporean International Arbitration Centre ruled the company should be paid USD 18 million as compensation.