Maldives president's spokesperson says money-laundering case 'has been withdrawn'
RaajjeTV was the first to report that the case was filed by the Maldives Monetary Authority unit in mid-September
President Abdulla Yameen
Following reports that the Maldives’ central bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) had filed a money-laundering case against the sitting president, his spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali has said that the case was filed at the police ‘without the Governor’s knowledge’ and that it has since been withdrawn.
RaajjeTV was the first to report that the case was filed by the Maldives Monetary Authority unit in mid-September. Since then, Al Jazeera has released further details of the case.
According to Al Jazeera, in a letter sent to then Acting Police Commissioner Abdulla Nawaz, the FIU had said that ‘a third party deposited $648,508 in hard currency into the president's account on September 5. Another $810,635 was deposited to the same account on September 10’.
The letter dated September 13, said that ‘the whole amount was later withdrawn in hard currency’.
The letter further noted that a President’s representative had told them that ‘the money was donations from private companies and various others to be used in the 2018 presidential election’.
The president’s spokesperson responded to the allegations via twitter on Tuesday.
In the first tweet he announced that the president had created a separate account for campaign related expenses, adding that there was nothing illegal in the process.
Noting that the separate account was created ‘as per law’, Muaz said that the president had clarified the matter with Governor Ahmed Naseer and that the case was filed at the police ‘without his knowledge’.
He added that the governor had told the president that the case has been withdrawn, and that ‘it does not prove that the president had acted against the law’.
“Hence, the president has requested MMA to inform people of the truth”, said Muaz.
Maldives’ outgoing president has faced multiple corruption allegations throughout the past five years, including receiving millions of dollars through Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), the company implicated in the biggest embezzlement case in the Maldives’ history.
While he had previously admitted to receiving USD one million from the company, he has since stated that the central bank had been ‘negligent’ in the case.
Al Jazeera had, in 2016, exposed the massive corruption including theft, bribery and money laundering in its award-winning documentary ‘Stealing Paradise’.
