The Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has refuted claims in local news outlets that an officer was penalized over an audio clip being linked which revealed Defence Minister Adam Shareef wanted to assault parliamentarians.

Several local media outlets claimed that an officer with the MNDF’s Special Protection Group had been penalized over the audio clip being leaked.

The MNDF’s information officer, Captain Ibrahim Azim, said that the reports are entirely baseless.

However, he said that this does not include any officers who may have resigned from service during this time over the matter. Captain Azim reiterated that the MNDF does not share information about officers and their resignation with the media.

RaajjeMV has learned from a reliable source that a number officers of the Special Protection Unit had been detained while the MNDF conducted an internal investigation over the leak.

The audio clap has Minister Shareef claim that he would have punched a parliamentarian during a sitting marred with unrest. He had commended the servicemen and women at the sitting, applauding their patience while conceiting that it was not in his capacity.