Zeed served with legal notice for MVR 471,640 refund to two doctors

Zeed International - a higher education consultancy firm embroiled in a medical education scam scandal - has been served with legal notice for a refund of MVR 471,640 that two Maldivian doctors who allegedly fell victim to the agency paid them when they applied residency overseas.

The police launched an investigation against Zeed – a firm run by a group of Sri Lankan nationals in partnership with Maldivians – on September 8 – following complaints the agency scammed multiple medical students, as well as doctors seeking residency overseas, out of tens of thousands of US dollars.

H & Associates, which is offering pro bono legal aid to the victims, told Sun that they filed a seven-day legal notice with Zeed on Friday, instructing the company to refund two doctors who were allegedly scammed after they paid to complete their residency in the Philippines.

The doctors claim that Zeed provided them with the wrong information, leading them to miss the medical licensing exam in Philippines. They also accused the agency of overcharging them for the course fee, and claimed that they faced visa issues, leading to one of the doctors getting deported back to the Maldives.

Zeed was accused of deliberately providing false information, failing to arrange for student visa and placement as promised, and misusing the money they paid.

Zeed was given legal notice to refund the MVR 209,500 and USD 17,000 (MVR 262,140) they paid within seven days.

H & Associates warned that they will be taking legal action on behalf of the clients if Zeed fails to provide a refund, adding that they also reserve the right to sue the agency for damages over the deportation of one of the doctors, the loss of employment opportunities they suffered, and the harm to their reputation.

The law firm told Sun they are representing five alleged victims of the medical education scandal.

H & Associates previously told Sun that the information verified by them shows Zeed has been charging Maldivian medical students triple or even quadruple the actual tuition fee charged for medical programs in by institutions in Malaysia, Philippines, and Sri Lanka.

They also found misinformation provided by the agency has led to multiple students facing visa issues, leading some of them to get deported back to the Maldives.  And that there are also cases where the agency never actually paid universities and hospitals.

These allegations are denied by Zeed International’s CEO Mohamed Faizeen, who insists the agency never scammed anyone. He said that both the registration process and the financial matters are handled by Zeed’s Philippines-based partner agent.

H & Associates have said that they find it especially alarming that Zeed has been using the Male’ office of the Cricket Board of Maldives to openly meet and lure students. The agency also has posters put up in the main roads of Male’, advertising their services.

In a statement on September 9, the Cricket Board said that senior management of the board rushed to the office on September 8 after receiving information that a group of people had entered the office along with police. The association said that upon inquiry, they found that a foreigner without any official status had entered the building and that an employee was involved in facilitating this.

The Cricket Board said they have taken action against the employee in question and pledged their full cooperation with the authorities.