Former Fenaka Corporation Managing Director Ahmed Saeed Mohamed, currently serving a four-year prison sentence for corruption, has pleaded not guilty to a fresh charge of embezzlement linked to the purchase of an ice plant in L. Maamendhoo.
The second preliminary hearing of the case was held at the Criminal Court on Thursday. Saeed is charged with abuse of official authority for allegedly facilitating the acquisition of the ice plant from Kaizan Investment under terms deemed detrimental to Fenaka. If convicted, he faces a minimum sentence of one year, seven months, and six days.
According to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Saeed misled Fenaka’s board during its 18th general meeting in 2023, concealing that the Fisheries Ministry had already planned to build the plant internally. The ACC also claims the valuation presented by Fenaka’s former Chief Accountant Mohamed Masood was significantly inflated compared to market rates.
At Thursday’s hearing, the prosecution requested a protective order for key evidence, while the defense is expected to respond at the next hearing.
Saeed’s current sentence stems from a separate case involving a settlement agreement with Blazon Inc., where funds were disbursed without any work being completed. That conviction followed a special audit by the Auditor General’s Office, which revealed MVR 1.4 billion in untendered spending over three years, including the purchase of used generators for MVR 2 million that were falsely recorded as new units worth MVR 17 million.
The ice plant case is one of several ongoing corruption investigations tied to Fenaka’s former leadership.