BML's case against presidential commission; fails dispute resolution stage, ACC intervenes

Bank of Maldives (BML)’s case against the presidential commission on corruption and asset recovery has been forwarded to trial, after failing to reach a solution at the Civil Court’s dispute resolution stage.

While the dispute resolution stage hearing was held on Thursday afternoon, Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath had represented the presidential commission while lawyer Shaaheen Hameed went in on behalf of the national bank.

While journalists were not allowed to enter the hearing, the Civil Court said that the case has been forwarded to trial as the parties failed to reach an agreement.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has since intervened in the case.

BML filed the case at the court, after refusing to provide information to the commission citing a High Court ruling and Article 72 (e) of the Criminal Procedure Act.

Senior officials at the bank were summoned to the parliament’s public finance committee on Tuesday, regarding the over MVR 1.4 billion stolen from the state coffers through the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) and a private company called SoF during the previous administration.

There, its deputy chief executive officer Mohamed Shareef had revealed that the bank stopped cooperating with authorities in the case, saying that it has been advised to not give out information “if there is no court order.”

ACC President Muavviz Rasheed told the parliament’s committee on independent institutions that BML’s refusal to cooperate ‘has been a hindrance to the investigation.’

BML is to have cooperated with the investigative bodies until July 7.