Nazim: Beneficiaries of MVR 14.6M linked to MMPRC scandal identified with evidence

Parliament’s Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim states the identity of people who have benefited from MVR 14.6 million linked Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) corruption scandal, one of the biggest corruption scandals in the history of Maldives, has been established with evidence against them.

The corruption took place during former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom’s administration.

In response to remarks made by Hanimadhoo MP Abdul Ghafoor during Monday’s parliamentary sitting—calling for the imprisonment of individuals involved in theft—Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim affirmed the current administration’s commitment to address corruption cases. He described the administration greenlighting auditing uniformed services, including Maldives Police Service and Maldives National Defense Force, as a testament to this commitment.

“We have identified MVR 14.6 million from the funds linked to MMPRC case and we have established the individuals who have benefited from this MVR 14.6 million with irrefutable evidence,” he said.

Nazim did not disclose the names of any of the individuals.

Speaking further, Nazim said the current administration has taken action in corruption and theft cases, including the dismissal of some heads of state-owned companies implicated in such cases. The result of this, he said, was a stop to negative rumors regarding state-owned companies.

According to Nazim, only 1.04 percent of the MVR 1.4 billion linked to MMPRC corruption scandal has been recovered.

Only two people have been convicted in the case: former vice president Ahmed Adeeb and then-MMPRC managing director Abdulla Ziyath.

However, at the end of the last administration, then-president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had pardoned Adeeb.

Nevertheless, the current administration has decided to reinvestigate the MMPRC case.

Notably, Yameen was charged in two separate cases linked to MMPRC. He was convicted of the charges and handed prison sentences of five and eleven years, both of which were later overturned on appeal.

According to a 2019 report released by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) following its investigation into the MMPRC scandal, the state suffered losses amounting to MVR 1.4 billion due to the corruption. Of the USD 77.4 million owed to the state for the leasing of 57 islands, only USD 12 million had been received.