MMPRC scandal: 70,000 texts provided by ex-VP, to be publicized

Speaker and former President, Mohamed Nasheed is going to publicize 70,000 text messages related to the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) corruption scandal.

Nasheed announcement this at Tuesday’s parliament sitting, after revealing that these messages were shared with the People’s Majlis’s committee on national security services by former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb, who was convicted on charges related to the case last week.

Adeeb is to have provided a mobile phone he previously used, in turn giving them access to 70,000 text messages related to the scandal.

Noting that the recipients of these messages are clear as well, Nasheed said that the former VP has made some confessions of his own as well, and that there is a clear connection between his statements and the text messages.

Hence, he said that it is very concerning that the investigation remains incomplete, despite all the evidence.

The discussion was held during a proposed amendment to the Penal Code, to make holding wealth and assets acquired through graft a crime.

While only Adeeb and former President Abdulla Yameen have been convicted in relation to the MMPRC scandal, the largest corruption scandal in the country’s history, a number of senior political figures have been accused of being involved as well.

Al Jazeera had aired a documentary on the corruption scandal in 2016. “Stealing Paradise” also includes text messages and photos obtained from a phone connected to Adeeb.