Umar denies awarding proejcts without permission from Finance

Former Home Minister, Umar Naseer has said no project of the Minivan 50 (Independent 50) was awarded without the permission in writing of the former Finance Minister, Abdulla Jihad.

Responding to the allegations of corruption made by the current Home Minister, Ahmed Azleen, Umar told Sun Media that documents would show that the projects of Minivan 50 was run with the Finance Minister’s approval.

He said that documents proving the approvals from the Finance Minister would be at the Home Ministry and so the responsibility falls on Abdulla Jihad.

The former Home Minister said that during the course of the Minivan 50 projects, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Auditor General’s Office were invited and inspected the progress and a special table was placed for the employees of the two offices at the Minivan 50 Office.

President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom created a committee with five cabinet ministers to run the Independence Day festivities in 2015.

The special committee consisted of then Home Minister, Umar Naseer, former Defence Minister, Moosa Ali Jaleel, former Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon, former Youth Minister, Ahmed Zuhoor and the Minister at the President’s Office, Mohamed Hussain Shareef (Mundu).

Umar Naseer said that “creating” an issue from the time he begins preparations for the 2018 Presidential Election to bring honesty to the country, is very saddening.

Speaking at an emergency press conference today, Home Minister, Ahmed Azleen said that the ACC is investigating corruption in the Ministry in 2015 in relation to the “Minivan 50”, the 50th Independence Day of the Maldives. And when Umar was in office, he had allegedly bypassed the ministry’s procurement and financial responsibility work and awards work to whomever the Minister wanted.

Minister Azleen said that work involving large amounts of money were given in violation of the financial law and had awarded work without getting a return.

Azleen said that projects of the Minivan 50 without contracts have also surfaced and when Umar was in office, he had repeatedly given work to a specific group according to records.