Audit Report of President

The Audit Office has said that MVR 446,578 was spent from the state budget in 2010 on a vacation trip by former President Mohamed Nasheed’s family to Singapore.

The Audit Report of President’s Office for 2010 released today states that former President Nasheed travelled to Male’ from Sri Lanka for personal reasons on a charter flight in 2010, for which MVR161,512 was spent from the state budget. The Audit Report notes that this money was never repaid to the state.

The report states that MVR 764,121 was spent by former Vice President and current President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik on a vacation to Malaysia in 2010, of which only the ticket cost was repaid to the government.

The report highlights that former President Nasheed included MPs, members of then-ruling party and senior members of political parties in his trips abroad in 2010, and settled accommodation and food expenses for them from the state budget.

The report states that MVR1.02 million was spent by the former president during trips to atolls in 2010, and most of these trips were not pre-planned or conducted in accordance with the Finance Ministry circular. It also states that state funds were used to pay for accommodation and food for MPs and senior members of political parties who participated in these trips, and that the purpose of this was to utilise state funds to obtain a political advantage for a particular group.

The report notes that while the President and Vice President are allowed vacation of 30 days every year, no amount is determined for their vacation trips.