Friday
22nd Nov 2024
Dhivehi Edition
The Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) has charged Youth Minister Ahmed Mahloof with bribery.
The PGO forwarded the case to the Criminal Court after an investigation into the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) embezzelment scandal. The PGO accuse Mahloof of having received USD$ 33,000 in bribes.
This is the first case of a sitting member of President Solih's cabinet being charged with corruption.
The PGO accuse Mahloof of having accepted the bribe during his time as a Member of Parliament for the Galolhu-South constituency in exchange for his support of the Special Economic Zone bill.
While Minister Mahloof is being charged with bribery, several individuals have been named by the investigation into the MMPRC scandal involving large amounts of money. Among them are high officials of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party and President Solih himself, as per the recent claim of the former Tourism Minister Ali Waheed.
Minister Mahloof had previously been suspended on account of the accusations of bribery.
Minister Mahloof had always maintained that the transaction had been a legitimate currency exchange. He claims that he did not know that the money came from MMPRC.