Former President Mohamed Nasheed has said it was unsurprising to learn that incumbent President Abdulla Yameen is ‘again breaking UN sanctions’.

The opposition leader said this on Twitter after Japan reported spotting a North Korean-flagged tanker lying alongside a Maldivian-flagged oil tanker in the East China Sea.

Nasheed said President Yameen is getting Maldives-flagged ships to transfer cargo to North Korea ships, and that he had done the same in the 1990s with the Burmese junta.

[twitter]

The reports on multiple

Japanese government websites

include photographs of the ship-to-ship transfer with Maldives-flagged tanker “Xin Yuan 18” taking place on February 24. Such interactions with North Korean ships have been prohibited by the United Nations Security Council.

Since then, Maldives’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a statement

saying that the alleged Maldivian-flagged vessel Xin Yuan 18 is not registered with the Maldives Transport Authority. It also said the use of the Maldivian flag on the vessel is a violation of the Maldivian laws and regulations, as the Maldivian authorities do not allow flag of convenience to foreign owned vessels to operate outside Maldivian waters.

The ministry said it is currently investigating the matter, and gives high priority to the implementation of all resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

President Yameen was investigated for his alleged involvement in an international money laundering racket worth up to US $800m in 2011 during the Nasheed administration which saw State Trading Organization (STO) sell oil to Myanmar. The case was later buried after Vice President Mohamed Waheed took over as president following Nasheed’s resignation.