On 17th January 2012, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) ordered Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) to withhold making further payments to Center Enterprises Pvt Ltd until the construction of a tugboat was completed and handed over to MPL as per an agreement between the two parties.
The Commission issued this order based on observations made during the investigation of the case related to the construction of the tugboat which revealed that the project was not being carried out in accordance the agreement between the two parties.
ACC issued its order based on, and with due regard to the case that was being investigated by the Commission and the transactions carried out between MPL and Center Enterprises Pvt Ltd since the agreement was signed on 18th November 2008 for the supply of a 17 ton bollard Tugboat.
On 21st April 2013, Center Enterprises Pvt Ltd filed a case against ACC claiming MVR 85,913,266/94 as damages for loss that the company claimed to have incurred due to the order issued by ACC.
The company based its claims on the grounds that ACC’s order prevented them from acquiring any further funding from MPL preventing further performance of its obligations under the agreement and that statements made by the commission both nationally and internationally, implied that the company was incompetent to fulfill its obligations as per the agreement.
Center Enterprises private limited further claimed that the ACC had acted ultra vires in issuing the order. Nevertheless, the Civil Court ruled that the Anti-Corruption Commission was not found to have acted in bad faith or ultra vires in issuing the order.
The Civil Court made the decision case number 832/Cv-C/2013 on 21st October 2015.
The claim for damages was later withdrawn by Center Enterprises Private Limited during the proceedings.