Vice Chairperson of the National Security Services Committee and MP for Central-Henveiru constituency Ali Azim has resigned from the committee, after rumors surfaced of his name being on a list of top-level leaders suspect in the MMPRC grand corruption case.

Following MP Ali Azim's resignation from the 241 Committee, MP for West-Henveiru constituency Hassan Latheef was appointed Vice Chairperson of the committee. Hassan Latheef was elected to the committee by the unanimous vote of 13 other members.

The 241 Committee had met on Monday evening, where Chairperson and MP for North-Hithadhoo constituency thanked Azim for services rendered as a member of the committee.

MP Ali Azim's departure from the 241 Committee comes just after the committee began reviewing an additional 14 names to their list of top-level leaders suspected in the MMPRC corruption case. Rumors have surfaced that MP Azim's name had been among those added to the list.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament and MP for North-Galolhu constituency Eva Abdulla will be joining the Parliament Committee on National Security Services in place of MP Ali Azim. She had previously served on the committee, but had resigned her position following the attempt of Speaker Mohamed Nasheed's life, as she felt she could not handle the demands of both position.

MP for Thulhaadhoo constituency Hisaan Hussain had initially replaced Deputy Speaker Eva in the 241 Committee. Prior to leaving the committee, MP for North-Galolhu constituency Eva Abdulla had stated that she would firmly prioritizing the investigation into the attempt made on former president Mohamed Nasheed's life.

MP Ali Azim's departure from the 241 Committee has come as a shock to many, with some theorizing that his name could be among the 14 additions made to the MMPRC corruption suspects list.

However, MP Ali Azim has firmly stated that he was never involved in the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corperation (MMPRC), and could not understand why his name could be on the list.

MP Ali Azim had been part of the joint parliament committee that had been reviewing a list of suspects in the MMPRC corruption case, to which 14 names had been added. MP Ali Azim stated that he had decided to temporarily distance himself from the committee after hearing rumors that his name had been on the list.

MP Ali Azim had been the Vice Chairperson of the National Security Services Committee, and the leader of main-ruling Maldivian Democratic Party's parliamentary group, which allows him to join and leave committees under the law.

Azim assured without a doubt that he had not been involved in the corruption, and stated that he would be returning to the committee after the issue had been reviewed. Azim revealed that by distancing himself from the committee, he wished to prove his sincerity to citizens of Maldives.