Home Minister lends weight to corruption allegations

Home Minister Azleen Ahmed has officially said that there were clear misappropriation of funds in the commemoration activities for Maldives’ 50th year of independence within the ministry leading back to then minister, Umar Naseer.

At a press conference the ministry held on Monday in response to an Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) probe, Minister Ahmed said that the ministry’s review of its sections for project procurement and finance reveals that projects for the Independence Day celebrations, called Minivan 50, were handed specifically to those that Naseer had handpicked.

The Home Minister further said that projects were appointed for more money than required. This constitutes a violation of the Public Finances Act, which stipulates that projects involving large sums be announced and appointed through bidding.

Minister Ahmed said that the Auditor General’s office has also followed suit with the ACC’s probe, and those responsible will be held accountable after the investigation is concluded.

When the allegations first surfaced, Umar Naseer had vehemently denied them – adding that he had invited both the ACC and the Auditor General’s office to sit at the very table where most of the ministry’s decisions for the activities had been made.

Naseer said that neither institutions had found any discrepancy in the funds then, and that all of the activities and projects had the approval of Vice President Abdulla Jihad, then Finance Minister.

He added that Monday’s probe was ‘conceived’ expressly to hinder his presidential aspirations.

Read More: ACC probes Home Ministry, Umar Naseer responds