It has been revealed that over MVR five million in cash was deposited into President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s personal bank accounts during the final 30 months of his tenure as housing minister, a revelation that raises serious questions about unexplained wealth and financial conduct while in public office.

Muizzu served as housing minister following the ousting of the first MDP-led government in 2012 and continued in the role under the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) administration, which came to power in 2013.

A cabinet minister in the Maldives receives a monthly salary and allowances totaling MVR 66,000, all of which is paid through formal transfers by the finance ministry. No government official is paid in cash.

However, documents obtained by Adhadhu News, a Maldivian investigative news outlet, show that between March 2016 and September 2018, 85 cash deposits were made into Muizzu’s Maldivian Rufiyaa and U.S. Dollar accounts at the Bank of Maldives (BML), totaling MVR 5,254,252 and USD 15,600.

When the dollar deposits are converted at the bank rate, the total amount reaches MVR 5,494,804.

These transactions were also flagged in a Financial Intelligence Report by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), which surfaced earlier this year. The report highlighted suspicious financial activity in Muizzu’s accounts beginning as early as 2015, including efforts to allegedly mislead banks regarding the origin of funds.

In addition to the large cash deposits, Muizzu also received direct transfers in U.S. Dollars from foreign companies that were awarded major government projects during his ministerial tenure.

According to records, USD 24,348.77 was deposited on three occasions by Winrun International, and USD 70,499 was deposited on four occasions by Hunan Construction, the company that constructed the highway linked to the Sinamalé Bridge

Notably, on 15 October 2017, the Ministry of Finance had transferred USD 105,950 (equivalent to MVR 1.63 million) to Hunan Construction from the state budget.

When questioned by Adhadhu News, Muizzu claimed that the payments were rental income for a personal row house he had leased to these companies. However, he has yet to explain how three different companies could have simultaneously rented the same property, casting serious doubt on his defense.

In light of these revelations, the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and opposition People's National Front (PNF) have called on relevant authorities to launch a full investigation into Muizzu’s financial dealings during his time in office.

Despite mounting public concern and increasing scrutiny, no investigative body has issued a formal statement or initiated any visible action on the matter.