Was given money for campaign, ready to resign if its part of the "non-halaal" money: MP Mahloof

Following President Abdulla Yameen's call for MPs funded by his former deputy to resign, MP for Galolhu South constituency Ahmed Mahloof has admitted to receiving MVR 300,000 from the First Lady's Office for his campaign, adding that he is ready to resign if the money is part of the said money.

Mahloof disclosed the information at a campaign rally held at Kamadhoo island of Baa atoll by the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on Thursday night.

He said that he was called to the First Lady's Office during the parliamentary elections in 2014, where he received MVR 300,000 for his campaign from Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM). He noted that the money was given to him in the presence of President Yameen and the now jailed former VP Ahmed Adeeb.

Noting that this was the only money he had received from the party for his campaign, Mahloof said that he is "ready to resign if the money is part of the non-halaal- money the President was referring to".

Furthermore, MP Mahloof said that he knows that Adeeb had "taken in MVR 2 million to Galolhu Dhoovehi (President Yameen's residence) during the Presidential Elections 2013", adding that he has "no idea" the total amount Adeeb had given him.

"So, I call on President Yameen to resign before calling on the parliamentarians to resign," he added.

At a PPM rally held on Monday night, President Yameen called on those MPs that were funded by Adeeb to resign from, saying that the cash was "without a doubt, not halaal".

President Yameen and his former deputy had embezzled nearly USD 80 million from the state-owned Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Company (MMPRC), according to Al Jazeera's investigative piece "Stealing Paradise".