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MALDIVES-CORRUPTION
Maldives seeks whistleblowers in search for looted cash
COLOMBO, Feb 13, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The Maldivian government urged its
citizens to support its anti-corruption drive Wednesday after it launched a
website to help trace millions of dollars reportedly stolen during the former
regime.
The whistleblower site went live on Tuesday, days after the government
sought international help to find millions of dollars allegedly siphoned off
by former president Abdulla Yameen, who faces embezzlement and money
laundering charges.
Launching the portal, President Mohamed Ibrahim Solih called on government
employees and ordinary citizens to anonymously lodge reports of corruption,
an official in his office told AFP.
“The campaign is to assure the community that his administration will not
tolerate corruption at any level,” the official said.
Users were encouraged to access the whistleblower site through proxy
servers to ensure anonymity.
Maldivian police have said their investigations found evidence linking
Yameen and his justice minister Azima Shakoor to the theft of state funds and
money laundering. In December, courts in the tourist paradise froze some $6.5
million in accounts allegedly linked to Yameen who suffered a shock defeat in
elections in September.
The authorities believe millions of dollars could be stashed abroad and
talks were underway with foreign entities to repatriate any cash found.
Yameen, who came to power in 2013 and jailed many of his opponents or
forced them into exile, has also been accused of receiving close to $1.5
million in illicit payments during his failed bid for re-election.
The country’s monetary authority lodged a police complaint over alleged
donations made into a private account held by Yameen in the runup to the
polls.
The former strongman president, who has been questioned but not detained,
has denied the allegations.
Yameen remains politically active. But since his downfall, almost all key
dissidents have returned to the country and been cleared of convictions
against them.
BSS/AFP/RY/1952 hrs