Maldives Customs seized over MVR four million, from December 2019 to January 2020, being moved from the country unlawfully.

Customs, via a statement on Friday, said that the three men were stopped at the airport after attempting to leave the country without declaring the funds despite carrying well over the permitted limit. According to the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Act, anything above the equivalent of USD 20,000 must be declared at the Customs.

The first case is from 12th December, with a 29-year-old Maldivian male attempting to leave the country with MVR 2,154,145.51. A second individual was stopped that day, a 33-year-old Bangladeshi with MVR 617,139.00 while a third case, of a 31-year-old Maldivian male trying to leave with MVR 1,383,174, is from January 22.

The cases have been forwarded to the Maldives Police Service, for further investigation.