Maldives Post Ltd has been fined by MVR 900,000 for failing to abide by an order from the Whistleblower Protection Unit.
The office was fined for firing a whistleblower who had brought to light cases of corruption within the company.
The Whistleblower Protection Unit was established under the Human Rights Commission of Maldives in 2019 under the Whistleblower Protection Act. Those who fail to comply with orders from the unit can be fined up to MVR 1 million.
This is the first instance that the Unit has fined a state institution.
The Whistleblowers unit had ordered Maldives Post to refrain from taking agy action against employees in the Business Development and Marketing Department until the probe into alleged corruption was completed.
However, against this first order, Maldieves Post dismissed one employee.
The unit then ordered Maldives Post to revert the dismissal. Maldives Post refused to comply with this order as well, leading to them being fined.
The Anti Corruption Commission is currently investigating six corruption cases against Maldives Post.