Charges filed against five, including Shamaan
Shamaan's family has since claimed that he was framed
The five individuals against whom charges are being filed
The Maldives Police Service (MPS) has sent cases to the Prosecutor General's (PG) Office to file charges against former Controller General of Immigration Mohamed Shamaan Waheed and four officers of the department, who were arrested on suspicion of taking bribes from an expatriate.
Five suspects, including Shamaan, have been arrested in connection with the case. The five arrested individuals are Mohamed Shamaan Waheed, 36, Mohamed Alsan Ismail, 21 and native to Buruni island of Thaa atoll, Ibrahim Ahmed, 37, Hassan Saheshan, 47 and Ahmed Lassaan, 40.
Speaking to RaajjeMV on Tuesday, media official at the Prosecutor General’s Office and legal counsel Ahmed Shafeeu revealed that the police had sent cases to the PG Office on Monday requesting to file charges against five individuals including Shamaan. He also said that the case has since been accepted.
Shafeeu said that a decision on whether to file charges against said individuals will be made within the next 15 days.
The suspects in the case are still in police custody. Among them, the Supreme Court has decided not to accept the appeal of Shamaan's case for detention until the end of the trial.
Regarding the case of allegedly taking illegal benefits from a foreign worker, the police had previously stated that some immigration officers had abused their authority to raid an apartment where foreigners had been living.
According to the police institution, the first to arrive at the scene of the raid operation were three immigration employees who did not have the job responsibility to conduct such operations, and during said operation, seven foreign workers were stopped, and said three immigration employees searched the house.
The police institution also said that later that night, a specialized immigration team was brought in to re-process the scene, seal the belongings of the arrested expatriates, and take them to the Immigration Detention Center.
The police institution said that the investigation revealed that the seven foreign workers arrested in said operation were expatriates whose documents were in order.
The police institution also disclosed suspicions that a foreigner who was taken to immigration detention during the raid was released on Shamaan's order after paying about half a million Maldivian Rufiyaa. They also suspect that the officers who conducted the operation met the expatriate on the street, took the money from him and went to Shamaan's residence.
In connection with the case, the police have searched Shamaan's residence. They took a large amount of money and electronic equipment into police custody from the house.
In connection with the case, the police institution also seized the phone of Shamaan's spouse, Hidhfa Faiz, and banned two individuals from leaving the country.
Shamaan's family has since claimed that he was framed, alleging that the accusations against him came after he informed President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu in December 2024 about corruption activities involving Minister of Homeland Security and Technology, Ali Ihusaan.
However, both President Muizzu and Minister Ihusaan have denied the allegations made by Shamaan's family.
