Mahloof Unwilling to Resign

Minister of Youth, Sports, and Community Empowerment Ahmed Mahloof has revealed that a number of political figures have been attempting to remove him from his position, but he refuses to resign.

During an interview with local media Sun, Mahloof claimed he previously stated he would resign if convicted of being involved in the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) as he thought the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) would investigate the matter fairly.

However, the minister observed that although Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem claims that cases are examined by the PGO within six days, Mahloof’s case has been at the PGO for 60 days. Although the committee assigned to the MMPRC case by the PG has repeatedly stated that Mahloof cannot be prosecuted in the case, it has been revealed that the matter is now being sent to another organization.

“No outside advice was needed when prosecuting those involved in the MMPRC case. I am aware that this charade is being orchestrated by political figures. With political figures taking such drastic measures, I don’t want to fold and do what they want. If I resign, they get what they want. I won’t even be prosecuted then”, said Mahloof.

Mahloof has made major accusations regarding issues in obtaining evidence to support the accusations against him. The Maldivian ambassador in Sri Lanka allegedly extracted a statement from a Sri Lankan citizen and was present in the Zoom meeting where the person gave their statement. Minister Mahloof stressed that the incident must be investigated to rule out whether the Sri Lankan was influenced.

“The ambassador was present during a criminal investigation conducted via Zoom. Was the Sri Lankan threatened? Where was the person at the time of the recording? Was there a gun pointed at his head off-camera? Was the person bribed? There was definitely no lawyer. This is not a small matter. I'm talking about a major issue here”.

Minister Mahloof is currently on suspension as he has been accused of accepting a bribe of USD 33,000 from former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb in exchange for voting for the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) bill in 2014. In relation to the matter, he stated, “There is no evidence. Going to court will do nothing but tarnish their reputation. They will be ashamed when these claims are presented to the court”.