Artur brothers imported some items into Maldives: Ministry
The infamous Armenian brothers accused of being global
conmen and drug traffickers had secured an import license and brought in
some items into the Maldives, Economic Ministry said Wednesday.
Economic Minister Ahmed Mohamed told Haveeru that the Artur
brothers’ company “Artur Brothers World Connection” was registered in
the Maldives after the Tourism Ministry had granted a foreign investment
permit. Hence under normal practice, the Arturs had been granted the
necessary business permits, he said.
“We have learned that they had imported some goods under that license. We haven’t been able to determine what those items are. It is not something the Ministry keeps track of. We have to find that out from the customs,” Ahmed explained.
However, Haveeru has been able to confirm that the Artur brothers’ company had imported a car and some motor parts, while the local shareholder in the company had tried to bring in a live goat shipment under that license.
According to the Minister, after the case of the Artur brothers had surfaced in the local media, the Ministry had sought advise from the Police over a course of action on the company registered by the Arturs. However, the Police are yet to respond to that request, he added.
In order to avoid such situations in future, Minister underlined the importance of centralizing registration of foreign investments. In that regard, he said such issues can be avoided if the whole process is brought under the mandate of a single Ministry or institution.
The Armenians had been linked to a huge scandal in Kenya which eventually led to their highly controversial deportation.
A local media outlet KTN’s investigations team produced a daring expose of the cover-up that followed the seizure of Kenya’s largest ever cocaine haul in December 2004.
The channel further disclosed how several tonnes of the cocaine went missing; how the brothers’ were allowed to escape and how two State prosecutions were deliberately mishandled.
A top leader in the then Kenyan opposition had also accused the Artur brothers of being mercenaries sent into the country to kill him.
Meanwhile Immigration Department on Tuesday confirmed that one of the two brothers have left the Maldives.
“We have learned that they had imported some goods under that license. We haven’t been able to determine what those items are. It is not something the Ministry keeps track of. We have to find that out from the customs,” Ahmed explained.
However, Haveeru has been able to confirm that the Artur brothers’ company had imported a car and some motor parts, while the local shareholder in the company had tried to bring in a live goat shipment under that license.
According to the Minister, after the case of the Artur brothers had surfaced in the local media, the Ministry had sought advise from the Police over a course of action on the company registered by the Arturs. However, the Police are yet to respond to that request, he added.
In order to avoid such situations in future, Minister underlined the importance of centralizing registration of foreign investments. In that regard, he said such issues can be avoided if the whole process is brought under the mandate of a single Ministry or institution.
The Armenians had been linked to a huge scandal in Kenya which eventually led to their highly controversial deportation.
A local media outlet KTN’s investigations team produced a daring expose of the cover-up that followed the seizure of Kenya’s largest ever cocaine haul in December 2004.
The channel further disclosed how several tonnes of the cocaine went missing; how the brothers’ were allowed to escape and how two State prosecutions were deliberately mishandled.
A top leader in the then Kenyan opposition had also accused the Artur brothers of being mercenaries sent into the country to kill him.
Meanwhile Immigration Department on Tuesday confirmed that one of the two brothers have left the Maldives.
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