Money laundering charges filed against MHR Trading in MMPRC case

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has decided to send money laundering charges against MHR Trading Pvt Ltd to the Prosecutor General’s Office in connection with the MMPRC corruption scandal.

The ACC said Wednesday’s decision follows a joint investigation with the Maldives Police Service. The case was forwarded to the PG Office on June 29.

According to the ACC, the investigation found that SOF Pvt Ltd deposited funds into the account of MHR Trading between February 2014 and October 2015, under the guise of payments for renting islands and lagoons for tourism development. A total of USD 325,000 was deposited into the company’s main account and its Tharukaaree Fihaara outlet through SOF cheques during that period.

The ACC said MHR Trading attempted to show the funds as dollar transactions but failed to prove who issued the cheques or how they were paid.

The investigation also uncovered that USD 50,000 paid to MMPRC as the acquisition cost of A.Dh. Fushidhigga was deposited into MHR’s account. The money was channelled through former MMPRC Managing Director Abdulla Ziyath, who was convicted over his role in the MMPRC scam. The cheque was deposited into MHR’s account and the funds were used, the ACC said.

Investigators found communication between Ziyath and MHR’s Managing Director regarding the cheques, and concluded that the MD had reason to suspect the funds were proceeds of crime.

The ACC has also asked MMPRC to recover the money lost to the state: MVR 5,011,500 (equivalent to USD 325,000 deposited through SOF cheques) and USD 50,000 paid as the acquisition cost of the island.

MHR Trading operates several businesses in addition to the Tharukaaree Fihaara grocery outlet. Its Managing Director, Abdulla Asim of H. Snoopy, Male', was arrested in 2016 in connection with the case. In 2023, the ACC alleged that Asim received USD 2.46 million (MVR 37.93 million) from the MMPRC scam and ordered MMPRC to recover the funds. Asim is an older brother of Ziyath.

The Asset Recovery Commission has stated that the state lost MVR 3.4 billion in the MMPRC scandal.

Former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih pledged to recover the stolen funds, but three days before leaving office, he pardoned and released former vice president Ahmed Adeeb and Ziyath, both convicted in the case.

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has said his administration is working to recover assets lost to the state, including those linked to the MMPRC scandal, and expressed confidence that the effort will succeed.