Unaware Adeeb's funds were sourced from MMPRC corruption: PPM
Noted concerns in the MMPRC corruption suspects list, in which a number of current and former government officials associated with PPM are named
Leaders of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), the country's main opposition party
The Maldives' main political opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) have claimed they were unaware the funds being put forward for political activities by former vice-president Ahmed Adeeb had been sourced from Maldives Marketing and Public Relations (MMPRC) grand corruption.
The party stated that their political activities were funded by the state and contributions from benefactors, and that they had not been aware Adeeb's funds had been sourced from illegtimately from the MMPRC corruption network.
While the list of those suspected in MMPRC corruption had been publicized by parliament earlier this week, it had included 44 former members of parliament and 16 sitting MPs of the 19th People's Majlis. A number of top-level leaders of government under the Yaameen administration were also implicated, including ex-VP Ahmed Adeeb and former ministers Abdulla Jihad, Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, Mohamed Hussain Shareef, Aishath Shiham, Dhunya Maumoon, Col. Rtd. Mohamed Nazim, Mohamed Saeed, Mohamed Anil, Mohamed Shainee, Moosa Zameer, Thoriq Ibrahim, Zaha Waheed, Mohamed Maleeh Jamal and the sitting Minsiter of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment Ahmed Mahloof.
PPM had released a press statement on Friday following the publication of the MMPRC corruption suspects list, and asserted that it was the norm for political parties in the Maldives to conduct political activities using funds contributed by benefactors. PPM claimed that the party received a number of donations from different parties, and that the funds had been continuously spent on party activities, traveling to constituencies and campaigning for candidates representing PPM in elections.
In their statement, the party also raised concerns that the list of MMPRC corruption suspects first compiled by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) was not the same as the one shared with parliament by the Asset Recovery Commission. PPM noted that some names had been excluded from the final list pushed to parliament by the Asset Recovery Commission, and called for an investigation into the basis of how names had been added and removed from the list.
Opposition party PPM also called for all perpetrators in the MMPRC corruption case to be brought to justice, and for an official apology on behalf of authorities for parties who had been named in the list without their prior knowledge.
