The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has sent a letter to the Prosecutor General's Office seeking charges against Dr Ali Abdullah Lateef and the former IGMH CEO Ibrahim Saleem over Covid-19 related corruption.

As per the Commission, it has requested the Prosecutor General’s Office to charge the individuals with misuse of official capacity under the Penal Code for providing an illicit benefit to a third party with self-interest and gaining an illicit benefit by allegedly allowing, a private company, RMLS Lab Services, to have access to the reagents used for PCR testing at the IGMH laboratory during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr Latheef was the Chairman of the Procurement Committee at IGMH as well as a member of the Medical Executive Committee, Technical Advisory Committee, and Technical Advisory Group.

"The investigations suggest that Dr Latheef and RMLS Lab Services had committed money laundering and therefore, have filed a separate case with Maldives Police Service to investigate Dr Latheef and RMLS Lab Services for money laundering. We have also requested the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) to review Dr Latheef’s tax documents as the Commission’s investigations suggest he may have misled his finances in the documents," the commission highlighted.

The ACC is also seeking charges against the former Head of the Laboratory Dr Milza Abdul Muhsin in the case.

In addition, the Maldives Medical Council has been asked to take action against Dr Latheef and Dr Milza, and to inform them of any action taken if necessary.