Yameen: Maldives needs a strong ‘earthquake’ to eradicate corruption

The Maldives needs a strong ‘earthquake’ to eradicate the corruption gripping the country, says former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom.

During a townhall meeting on Sunday night by Yameen’s People’s National Front (PNF), the former Maldivian leader responded to recent remarks by Ibrahim Falah, the leader of ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), calling for legislative changes to mandate the financial disclosure of registered news outlets and TV channels.

Yameen said what the people want is for state officials who are paid with taxpayer money to disclose their financial declarations. He said that journalists aren’t paid with taxpayer money, but are there to hold state officials accountable.

“[President Dr. Mohamed] Muizzu still hasn’t disclosed his financial declaration. And when the members of the People’s Majlis submit their financial declarations, the Auditor General’s Office is saying there’s no policy in place to verify it. So, what is the use of submitting these financial declarations?” he asked.

Yameen alleged that “people speaking such nonsense” are being “fed” by the same group of people.

“The Maldives cannot eradicate this corruption unless it gets hit with a strong earthquake,” he said.

Yameen also slammed his former political ally, President Muizzu, for alleged failure to respond to allegations of corruption that are being widely reported by the press and discussed by the public.

“Lower yourself to the level of the people. Stop adorning yourself in religious clothing. Act like an ordinary citizen first. A citizen is authentic. He is humble. He takes his food and drink, and thinks about other things when there is a social justice system,” he said.

Yameen said that it is not just government officials who must disclose their finances, but also judges.

That will reveal the people who are funding these judges, he said.

Yameen also called on President Muizzu to answer to the allegations of corruption against him, remarking that in the civilized world, state officials resign when faced with such allegations.

It was during Yameen’s administration that the biggest corruption case to rock the Maldives, the MMPRC graft and money laundering scandal, broke out. Former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor had testified in court that Yameen had been the architect of the scheme, which involved the siphoning of millions of USD from the sale of islands and lagoons. Yameen had been convicted and jailed in two cases linked to the MMPRC scandal, but the convictions were later overturned upon appeal. He remains on trial in one case.

Yameen has consistently denied the allegations against him, claiming that the money transfers he received from Adeeb were political donations and not embezzled public funds.

He also claims that only he had dared to crack down on corruption.