MMPRC graft: Charges sought against Montillion, previously linked to Adeeb

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), on Monday, has forwarded a case to the Prosecutor General’s Office seeking money laundering charges against Montilion International Private Limited in connection with the MMPRC scandal over the alleged misappropriation of funds, including MVR 77.1 million obtained from Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) under the pretext of purchasing US dollars and a USD 1 million loan obtained from the Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC).

The ACC said the decision to prosecute Montilion International, which is currently undergoing liquidation, was made following a joint investigation conducted with the police. The commission found that a significant portion of the misappropriated MMPRC funds was deposited into Montilion International’s account through two USD cheques issued from the Bank of Maldives (BML) account of SOF Private Limited, with the transactions facilitated by former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor.

According to the investigation, the funds were deposited into and subsequently used from Montilion International’s account at a time when the company’s senior management should reasonably have suspected that the money had been obtained through criminal activity. ACC has also decided to instruct MMPRC to recover the USD 150,000 deposited into Montilion’s account through the two cheques issued by SOF.

ACC initially decided to investigate the matter on November 2, 2014, following an audit report issued by former Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim. The report concluded that the MVR 77.1 million obtained from MPL and the USD 1 million obtained from MTDC had been secured for the financial benefit of specific individuals.

The audit report further found that, after obtaining a USD 1.1 million loan from MTDC on the pretext of making urgent payments to foreign parties for tourism promotion, the funds were instead channelled to a company linked to Adeeb’s family interests. The loan was disbursed by MMPRC, which operated under the Ministry of Tourism, to Montilion International Private Limited.

Montilion was a company in which Adeeb held a 35 percent stake before his appointment as Tourism Minister. The company’s shares are currently held by Saheed Hussain and Shahid Hussain.