Former FIU head requests plea deal
Millions were embezzled through state coffers while Athif Shakoor was in charge of the unit
Athif Shakoor
Former head of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) and the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), Athif Shakoor, who has been charged with multiple financial crimes, is seeking a plea deal to avoid a jail sentence.
While millions were embezzled through state coffers while Shakoor was in charge of the unit, charges were raised against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Act this March.
A hearing in the case was held at the Criminal Court on Tuesday.
Speaking to RaajjeMV after the hearing, media official at the Prosecutor General’s Office told RaajjeMV that Shakoor requested a ‘confessional agreement’ at the hearing.
The official said that additional information on the matter can only be disclosed after the Office reaches a decision on it.
While the PG Office is yet to confirm its decision on the matter, Athif had previously denied the allegations against him and claimed that he had made repeated attempts to notify the police of the suspicious transactions.
While the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and other investigative bodies continue to investigate the largest corruption scandal in Maldives’ history, ACC accuses Shakoor of knowingly allowing millions to be stolen from state coffers through the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC).
The ACC investigation “clearly” shows that Shakoor, after being made aware of a report received of possible corruption case worth at least USD 100 million, failed to forward the case to the police and instead filed it.
He confessed to this, during the investigation.
The ACC report states that FIU had failed to take any action despite huge sums of state funds being laundered into a private account, SoF, giving it undue benefits.
Citing FIU’s analyst report, ACC said SOF -the private company implicated in the corruption scandal- had received a total of USD 22,100,000 through state owned Maldives and Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC). This includes USD 9,100,000 deposited between August to November 2014.
The company is to have withdrawn MVR 47,500,000 (USD 3,080,415), through a total of eight transactions.
