President blames banks and MMA for Maldives' biggest corruption scandal

President Abdulla Yameen has stated that the central bank had been negligent in the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC)'s multi-million-dollar embezzlement case.

He made the statement at the presidential 'debate' hosted by the Maldives National University (MNU) on Sunday night, where he claimed that MMA had failed to discharge its duties.

Noting that there are no issues with leasing islands for development, President Yameen said that the issue is with the minister tasked with the work taking advantage of the situation.

He said that islands are leased after the government approves an amount agreed by the tourism minister after negotiations, with an additional amount as CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility).

Further noting that this was done without seeking counsel from him or the attorney general, Yameen said that the money going missing 'is an issue'.

He said that tracing the money 'is not the government's responsibility', and that the tourism minister is to blame.

President Yameen also emphasized that the money would have been transferred through a commercial bank, further blaming the bank and MMA for not fulfilling their responsibilities.

"The money which should have gone to the state was sent to a private company by two individuals. To a company where they hold shares. These transactions would have gone through a commercial bank. The commercial bank had failed to monitor this as they should have. MMA had also failed to do so," said the President.

While then tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb was appointed as the president's deputy in 2015, President Yameen said that the fact these were not disclosed prior 'is due to an issue with the whole system'. He added that an individual involved in such activities would not have remained as a minister.

He further blamed MMA's 'clearing department' for failing to flag the MMPRC corruption, saying that those in the department should have 'used their heads' and questioned why money was being transferred from MMPRC to this private company.

He added that the failure could be due to 'lack of experience'.

While Yameen has said that MMA had been negligent in the biggest corruption scandal in the country, his administration had vehemently defended Adeeb at the time and the Auditor General Ahmed Niyaz was dismissed after he launched an investigation into MMPRC's corruption.