Former Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer, who served under the previous Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) administration, was summoned and questioned by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Sunday afternoon.

Ameer appeared at ACC at 2:30pm, in relation to an ongoing investigation. While the commission has not publicly disclosed details of the case, his summons comes amid a broader pattern of inquiries targeting senior officials from the previous government, raising concerns over selective accountability and political bias.

Ameer, a vocal critic of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s economic policies, has defended his tenure from 2019 to 2023, asserting that he fulfilled his duties with integrity and did not use his position to cause any financial harm to the state. He has also criticized what he describes as politically motivated efforts to intimidate opposition figures under the guise of anti-corruption investigations.

His summons follows those of MDP Chairperson and former Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail and former Education Minister Dr. Aishath Ali, both of whom have been called in for questioning in connection with the controversial compensation awarded to Swift Engineering, a company owned by government-aligned MP Saudhulla Hilmy.

While ACC is focusing its investigation on the committee decision made during the previous administration to compensate Swift Engineering for six canceled projects, MP Saudhulla has publicly defended the move. He argued that the awarded projects were a fair and appropriate form of compensation for losses incurred when the contracts were terminated during former President Abdulla Yameen’s administration, when President Muizzu was serving as Housing Minister.

As Ameer appeared before ACC, MDP supporters staged protests outside the commission’s headquarters, accusing ACC of conducting politically motivated investigations while deliberately ignoring corruption allegations linked to the current administration. Demonstrators expressed frustration over what they see as a one-sided approach to accountability, suggesting that ACC is being weaponized to weaken the opposition ahead of key political events.

The repeated targeting of prominent MDP figures has further fueled public skepticism about the independence of oversight institutions. Critics argue that instead of promoting genuine accountability, the current trend of investigations risks turning ACC into a tool for political retribution.