http://www.haveeru.com.mv/president_yamin/66417
'Evidence' links Maldives' graft embattled govt to $1.5 bln cash import
Mohamed Visham, Haveeru Online
Feb 11, 2016 - 04:23
- MALE, MALDIVES, September 15, 2015: The ceremony held by the Ministry of Youth and Sports at Dharubaaruge convention centre in capital Male on September 15, 2015 to officially inaugurate 30 futsal fields, developed as part of the government's sports arena project. HAVEERU PHOTO/ MOHAMED SHARUUHAAN
Allegations of mass corruption and embezzlement surrounding the government intensified on Thursday after documents linking top state officials to USD1.5 billion cash brought in from the Middle East were leaked to local media.
The documents were leaked hours after opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chairperson Ali Waheed had claimed on opposition-aligned Raajje TV Tuesday evening that an unidentified group had brought in cash amounting to USD1.5 billion to the Maldives and diverted those funds via the treasury to state officials as bribes.
Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) however, had condemned the accusations as “blatant lies” aimed at creating doubts among the public over the integrity of a state institution and defaming its chief.
Finance minister Abdulla Jihad was, however, unavailable for comment.
But he was quoted by some local media outlets as having confirmed the transaction but denied that the funds had been brought in.
The unidentified group behind the leak claims that the investigation was carried out by a group from the UK and the information was derived from a laptop of the now deposed vice president Ahmed Adheeb Abdul Ghafoor.
According to the leaked documents, the government in collaboration with a Singapore based firm named Idea-V Investment Management had imported USD1.5 billion on a chartered flight to the Maldives on March 3, 2015.
The documents show that on arrival of the flight, senior military officials had cleared the cash and transferred the cash to a vault in the military headquarters in Male.
The cash was then taken to the MMA vault where it was deposited to the state accounts and then to private accounts in commercial banks in operation in the Maldives.
However, except for a draft letter, no documents were available directly linking MMA to the alleged transaction.
The documents link high ranking government officials including president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, then vice president Adheeb and finance minister Jihad to the alleged money laundering scheme.
Financial experts suspect money laundering due to the scale of the funds involved. They believe that importing such a large amount of cash by skipping banking channels was extremely suspicious.
But Maldives has no cap on the amount of cash brought into the archipelago as long as it is declared via customs. But customs is required to report such a large amount of cash imported to the country to the central bank.
"It is highly suspicious that such a large amount of cash was brought in through official channels," a financial expert on condition of anonymity told Haveeru.
MMA had earlier insisted that the state treasury is overseen by the central bank, and not the army. Funds are deposited and withdrawn from the treasury in accordance with laws and regulations, and established procedures, it said.
“It is done in the presence of top officials from MMA, parliament, finance ministry and the Auditor General’s office,” a statement issued by the central bank Thursday morning read.
MMA stressed that state revenue is deposited in a public account at the authority. State and public companies, however, maintain their accounts at different banks, it added.
The new allegations come in the wake of shocking revelations of rampant corruption at the highest levels of state, especially at the state tourism promotion company.
The allegations by the MDP chairperson, who is living in London after a self-imposed exile following mass arrests over an anti-government demonstration on May Day, follows similar accusations by another top opposition parliamentarian.
Police summoned South Galolhu MP Ahmed Mahloof Sunday over a tweet levelling corruption allegations against the president and the first lady.
Mahloof had claimed on twitter that an account held President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom at State Bank of India (SBI) had “only MVR9 million” while his spouse Fathimath Ibrahim’s account at the same bank had “only MVR13 million.”
Mahloof, after his interrogation at the police headquarters Sunday evening, told Haveeru that the police wanted to know the source of his information.
“I told them that I had received the information from a police officer involved in the corruption investigation [involving the state tourism promotion company]. When I refused to identity the officer, they asked me to at least give out their height,” he said.
The MP, who had crossed over to the opposition after being sacked from ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) following a falling out with President Yameen, said he had requested the police to arrest the president and investigate the funds in the bank accounts of the first family.
The president denied the accusations Monday.
“I’m telling this fundamental truth in front of the people of Maldives; that I’ve never had a bank account at SBI. So how can I keep any funds at the bank,” he said, after inaugurating a new harbour in the northern island of Kudafari in Noonu atoll.
Hours after the president’s denial, Mahloof announced that he had received new information tracing the funds to accounts held by the president and the first lady at MIB.
“After Yameen’s denial of having any bank account at SBI, I met with the police officer [who had initially given me the information]. He told me that the accounts were at MIB,” he said, during an opposition protest in capital Male Monday evening.
According to Mahloof, police officers investigating the corruption scandal surrounding the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) had asked him to go public with the findings implicating the first family.
“… They say that they have always hit rock bottom during the investigation because all findings had led to accounts of Yameen and Fathimath Ibrahim,” he said.
Mahloof’s allegations against the president and the first lady came after opposition MDP levelled shocking new allegations against the government last week, accusing top officials of money laundering and terrorist financing.
MDP, citing an intelligence report it had received about a covert intelligence operation carried out within the Maldives and at various locations overseas, made allegations concerning the expropriation of public funds by or on behalf of regime officials; the siphoning of public funds for unlawful surveillance of political opponents and other unlawful political purposes, the making of corrupt payments to members of the judiciary, and the making of corrupt payments to politicians, police officers, businessmen and those involved in organised crime.
The party also alleged that Saudi Arabian officials had given £500 million (MVR11.23 billion) to the Maldives last year as bribes to Maldivian officials.
The new allegations against the government followed similar accusations by MDP late last month where the opposition party filed a case at the police accusing President Yameen and a top government lawmaker of being complicit in the corruption scandal involving the tourism promotion company.
In a statement, MDP said it had lodged a case at the police to investigate documents sent to received via anonymous emails regarding alleged corruption involving the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) and other individuals.
“… over 205 million US dollars received by the MMPRC were distributed to other private companies through illegal means. The emails further allege that these companies have failed to repay the borrowed money within the agreed timeframe,” the statement read.
MDP said it had received a deposit receipt (Trx No: 1405664) of USD 500,000 to an account under the name of Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom on October 12. Over USD 300,000 was also transferred to an account under the name of Villufushi MP Riyaz Rasheed, it added.
“According to the documents received, Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom is equally involved in the alleged corruption involving the MMPRC and former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb [Abdul Ghafoor],” the statement read.
“Similarly, there appears to be many other transactions of this nature under the names of individuals similar to those currently in senior positions in the government. The MDP believes an investigation is required in order to clarify the issue and prevent any further sleight on these individuals.”
The party called on police to impartially investigate and expedite investigation of this case.
Meanwhile, addressing the people of Kudafari in Noonu atoll, the president also brushed off as unfounded allegations opposition claims that he had been involved in embezzling funds through MMPRC.
“If those funds had been handed over to us, there should be documents to prove that,” he said.
According to the president, his conscience would not have let him contest elections and go to the people asking for their votes had he been involved in any corrupt activity.
President Yameen also said it was difficult for him to admit that the finance ministry and the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) had been kept in the dark for so long about such a massive corruption scandal.
“It went to this extreme because of negligence of bank employees or shortcomings in banks’ internal policies,” he said, after inaugurating the new harbour in the northern island.
The president’s comments echo a warning by the central bank on Saturday that any bank implicated in the corruption scandal surrounding MMPRC would be penalised.
In a statement, MMA said it was reviewing operational policies of banks to establish if irregularities flagged in the audit are due to internal shortcomings.
“Action will be taken if a bank is found to have violated any laws in dealings covered by the audit report,” the statement read.
A much anticipated special audit into the finances of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), released Friday afternoon, showed that the funds embezzled through the corruption laden state tourism promotion company amounts to over USD79 million (MVR1.2 billion).
The special audit into the finances of MMPRC had shown that USD70.17 million (MVR1 billion) out of the total USD79 million (MVR1.2 billion) was siphoned off to accounts of SOF Private Limited.
SOF is owned by Mohamed Allam Latheef, one of the closest associates of deposed vice president Ahmed Adheeb Abdul Ghafoor.
The company, in a statement Saturday evening, insisted that it had diverted the funds to top officials of the government including the president as directed.
“None of the funds had been used or retained by the company’s managing director, shareholders or family members of the company management,” the statement in local language Dhivehi read.
PPM had countered the allegations made by SOF saying that no funds obtained from illegal means had ever been accepted by the party. The party insisted that it had always upheld laws and regulations.
PPM also condemned comments by SOF that funds had been diverted to personal accounts of President Yameen and First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim, and called on authorities to investigate the comments.
In its statement, SOF also backed allegations made by main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) that that key information had been omitted from the audit report and called for an independent audit of MMPRC.
Latheef is also one of the four shareholders of the company that owns Hibilhadhoo island in Baa Atoll, which is being developed as a resort, from where the armed forces had discovered a large weapons stash in October.
The military had confirmed that the two rifles found in Hibalhidhoo were from the state armoury.
Local authorities, meanwhile, has identified Latheef and seven others as wanted in two separate cases related to the explosion aboard the presidential speedboat late September confirmed as an attempt to kill the president. Interpol has issued red notices for Latheef, who had reportedly fled the Maldives after the blast and is residing in a European country, and three of the other suspects.
The weapons bust has been linked to the blast aboard the presidential speedboat, which has been identified by authorities as part of a ploy by then vice president Ahmed Adheeb Abdul Gahfoor to assassinate the president.
Then vice president Adheeb was arrested on October 24 over the blast aboard the presidential speedboat carrying the president in September. He still remains in custody.
The former vice president has been accused of high treason; a charge he strongly denies.
President Yameen and First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim were travelling to Male from the airport on September 28 when the explosion took place. They had returned home that morning after concluding their visit to Saudi Arabia to perform the annual hajj pilgrimage.
The president escaped unhurt, but the first lady and two presidential aides suffered serious injuries.
The audit into MMPRC, released Friday afternoon, also revealed that another USD7.50 million was diverted to Millennium Capital Management Private Limited, owned by a relative of Adheeb now in custody.
Hamid Ismail was taken back into custody Friday morning after an order signed by Criminal Court judge Abdul Bair Yousuf which said the prominent businessman was to be held at a location of the home ministry’s choosing until the end of his trial.
Hamid was transferred to house arrest after a Criminal Court order on January 17.
The repeal order by the Criminal Court comes after prosecutors late last month appealed the order that transferred Hamid to house arrest.
Hamid who is the brother-in-law of Adheeb has been charged with embezzling funds from the corruption laden state tourism company.
He was initially arrested on October 28 from a condominium in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. The arrest was made in a joint operation by the Maldives police and the counter terrorism division of the Malaysian police.
He was released from custody, but was later arrested again in a money laundering case involving MMPRC.
Police had said MMPRC had illegally transferred funds received as acquisition cost by leasing an island for resort development to a company directly linked to Hamid. The funds were then transferred to the accounts of several suspects in the blast, police said.
The special audit, conducted from November 17, 2013 -- the day President Yameen assumed office -- to October 27, 2015 -- a day before the arrest of Adheeb over the blast, showed that the funds received through lease acquisition costs amount to USD65 million.
MMPRC has mediated the leasing of over 59 different tourist hotels, resorts and yacht marinas out of which 53 had been leased through an agreement with the tourism ministry. The rest were given out without any agreement with the ministry, the report showed.
Hamid had accompanied his brother-in-law Adheeb on his visit to China and later to Singapore as well.
While they were abroad, police and the armed forces had on several occasions jointly raided Shoora Manzil in Maafannu ward of capital Male following allegations of “destroying evidence” linked to the explosion. Some items were confiscated from the residence of Hamid, which houses an apartment used by the former vice president.
Maldives has recently adopted a new law on money laundering. Under the law, possession of a property with direct knowledge or suspicion that it had been acquired by committing a crime is punishable.
If convicted, Hamid faces a lengthy prison sentence and/or major fines.
In addition to Hamid, Adheeb and one of his closest associates have been implicated in the corruption scandal involving MMPRC.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and police are also conducting separate investigations into the company.
ACC had said its investigation concerning MMPRC is shaping up to be the biggest corruption investigation in its history. The commission had described the probe into MMPRC’s finances as being much wider in scope than previous investigations of a similar scale such as the leasing of Maldives main international airport to an Indian company and the deal with a Malaysian company to install a brand new border control system in the Maldives.
The primary suspects in the corruption scandal are deposed vice president Adheeb and one of his closest associates Abdulla Ziyath, who had until last week served as the head of MMPRC.
Ziyath, who served as the Managing Director of MMPRC until last week, was summoned to the police for questioning over corruption allegations related to the leasing of islands for resort development before being arrested in late October.
Charges have been filed against deposed vice president Adheeb and Ziyath in a case involving the leasing of an island and a lagoon in Male atoll. Adheeb was charged with abuse of power while Ziyath was charged with corruption.
In the second corruption lawsuit, Ziyath had been charged with embezzlement over USD 5 million (MVR 76.2 million) received as acquisition cost for an island leased for resort development. Adheeb and his relative Hamid Ismail had been accused of being accomplices in the crime.
Police had in early January forwarded another 25 cases of corruption against the former vice president for prosecution.
Police had in December forwarded cases implicating Adheeb and Ziyath in leasing of an additional 17 islands.
With those cases, the total number of cases against the former vice president now exceeds 40.
The Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office, however, had announced that a decision on filing charges in the corruption cases forwarded by police would be taken once the corruption watchdog completes its own investigation. It is to avoid any legal complications that might arise if charges are filed before that, it had said.
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