ACC refers money-laundering charges against MHR Trading
The family company of former MMPRC chief Abdulla Ziyath took US$325,000 in SOF cheques a decade ago, investigators say — the scandal's newest prosecution step.
The Anti-Corruption Commission has referred money-laundering charges for prosecution against MHR Trading, the family company of former MMPRC managing director Abdulla Ziyath — a fresh step in the corruption scandal that has now outlasted three governments.
Between February 2014 and October 2015, US$325,000 in cheques from SOF Pvt Ltd — the private company through which diverted resort-lease payments flowed — were deposited into MHR's accounts, according to the joint investigation by the commission and police reported by the Maldives Independent. Investigators separately identified a US$50,000 payment as the acquisition cost of Fushidhiggaa, an island in Alif Dhaalu atoll.
The commission says communications gathered in the investigation give grounds to suspect the money was criminal proceeds, and it is seeking recovery of the sums together with any investment profits made on them.
The MMPRC affair — in which lease payments for islands and lagoons were diverted before they reached the state — remains the largest corruption case in Maldivian history. Ziyath, who ran the tourism promotion company at its centre, was convicted years ago; the money's onward journey through family companies and island purchases is still being charged a decade on.
More from Politics
Complaint filed against the judge who acquitted Muizzu in 2023
It follows a former police commissioner's claim at an opposition rally that MVR 800,000 was paid to the judge — an allegation that remains unproven.
Applications open for seats on the Human Rights Commission
A presidential nomination and Majlis confirmation follow — appointments that will shape the watchdog's next term.
Pension Office confirms the MVR 2.4 billion bond deal that cost it nine officials
The fund converted treasury bills into a long-term bond the central bank then bought — a structure critics call money printing by another name. Its chairman, CEO and board members resigned rather than sign.
Muizzu accuses the Information Commissioner of taking opposition orders
The broadside came after the commissioner's office fined the President's Office MVR 2,000 for repeatedly failing to answer right-to-information requests.