Parliament accepts Illicit Enrichment Bill for evaluation

The Parliament has accepted the legislature submitted by Ihavandhoo MP Mohamed Abdulla (Muhanma) to add declare illicit enrichment as a criminal offense in the Penal Code.

The Bill was accepted with the unanimous vote of all 54 lawmakers present during the Parliament sitting this Monday afternoon.

It has now been sent to the National Security Committee for evaluation.

Muhanma reports the Bill was submitted in light of changing trends in acts of corruption which take place in Maldives.

He says the legislature is designed to stop civil servants whose income and assets rise above the legal income and the possible returns from investment of the legal income. And to stop civil servants from earning income and assets which they cannot legally explain.

The legislature declares illicit enrichment as a criminal offense punishable under the Penal Code.

Any past or present civil servant living a standard of life which mismatches the income he/she earns or earned can be persecuted for illicit enrichment.

Many of the lawmakers who spoke during the debate on the Bill expressed approval of the essence of the Bill, but also stressed the need to refine and detail the legislature during committee evaluation.

Submitting legislature to stop illicit enrichment was one of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s 100-Day Pledges, and is part of a large campaign to stop widespread corruption in Maldives.