Nasheed to president: Trying to conceal corruption extremely shameful

Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed who recently resigned from main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), accusing the current administration of trying to conceal corruption, has stated such acts were shameful to MDP itself.

Nasheed who served as MDP’s leader prior to his resignation from the party in a tweet on Wednesday after it was announced that Maldives Police Service was investigating a possible case of corruption tied to Road Development Corporation (RDC), accused the government of protecting those complicit of corruption and trying to conceal such cases.

“Protecting people who have betrayed the state’s assets and influencing police, PG {Prosecutor General’s Office) and courts to sweep such cases under the rug have been witnessed in President Solih’s current term,” he said.

“The RDC corruption which has recently surfaced is a norm now. This is shameful in an MDP-led government,” he added.

The case Nasheed is referring to came to light after some media outlets reported MVR 13 million was transferred from RDC’s account to the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Yasir Hassan’s personal account.

The media outlets, in their reports, drew a link in the transaction to RDC’s Managing Director Moosa Ali Manik Mookey (Mookey).

Mookey has denied the allegations in a tweet in which he said no money obtained through theft has been deposited to a personal account.

“Transactions between two accounts will be traced. (I) believe it to be important to practice writing more believable stories than this while writing short stories,” he said.

Sun has learned that police are probing the case as that of an embezzlement and money laundering case.

Police, however, have yet to disclose any further information regarding the case. When questioned after the allegations came to light, police, in their only comment to the press, said they were investigating a case related to RDC.

Reliable sources confirm that the case was reported to the police by Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA)’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).