FIU head Sajid suspended from duty

Ismail Sajid, the recently appointed head of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) at the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), has been suspended, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The source told Sun that Sajid was instructed not to report to office this week. No official details regarding the reason for his suspension have been released so far.

Sajid was appointed to the post in late August, shortly after a confidential FIU report analysing transactions linked to PNC parliamentary group’s senior deputy leader Ibrahim Shujau (Shuja) was leaked on social media. The document, shared via an anonymous X account named Hassan Kurusee, detailed large sums allegedly deposited to Shujau through the Army Welfare Cooperative (CIVEC).

Following Sajid’s appointment, long‑serving FIU head Abdulla Ashraf was transferred to the role of Head of Risk and Compliance. Ashraf, a lawyer with extensive experience in financial intelligence, had been removed from the FIU leadership on the same weekend the leaked report surfaced.

Repeated calls and text messages to the MMA seeking comment on Sajid’s suspension went unanswered.

Before joining the FIU, Sajid served as a member of the Tax Appeal Tribunal, a position he resigned from voluntarily.