Youth Minister Mahloof hits out at ACC: Dont make this into a game!

Minister for Youth Sports and Community Em[pwerment Ahmed Mahloof has requested state bodies not to treat the case against him for his alleged involvement in the MMPRC scandal as "a game to be played".

Minister Mahloof wrote on Twitter today after the PG Office requested the ACC for additional documents regarding the ACC case forwarded to bring charges against Mahloof for accepting payments from the MMPRC scandal. 

In his tweet, Minister Mahloof criticized the Anti-Corruption Commission and called on the Commission to stop treating his case as a game, without fulfilling the legal requirements. 

Mahloof said that "I am not a ball for Shiuna (ACC President) to play with. If you don't know what you are doing, better you resign,"

The PG Office today, specified that the case was still at the office and was not in fact rejected, after tumors that the case was rejected. The PG Office said that it had requested additional documents from the ACC regarding the case against Mahloof. 

The ACC has previously said that its investigation had shown that Mahloof, who was then serving as a parliamentarian in 2014, received USD 33,000 to vote for the Special Economic Zone bill and to remain at the leadership of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

The investigation showed that Mahloof traveled to the Maldives from Malaysia on August 24, 2014, to vote specifically for the economic zone bill and that his vote was in support of the government-backed bill. The investigation showed that Mahloof had received USD 33,000 through a SOF company cheque. Mahloof had responded by saying that money was for foreign currency exchange purposes, however, the claim was refuted by the ACC investigation. 

Mahloof had later criticized the investigation and the proceedings against him by saying that he was being used as a sacrificial lamb in politics regarding the MMPRC scandal. 

Due to the requested charges, Mahloof is currently undergoing suspension. He has previously said that he would resign as Minister the day he was charged.