Public Accounts Committee Investigates Alleged Illegality in Previous Government's Compensation Decisions

The Public Accounts Committee has initiated an inquiry into the compensation processes overseen by a settlement committee set up under the previous administration. The settlement committee, operating from the President's Office, was responsible for resolving disputes between the government and the private sector, a process which Attorney General Ahmed Usham stated was guided by decisions from the former Public Accounts Committee, largely controlled by the then-ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

Dhiggaru MP Ahmed Naazim, speaking at the committee session, pointed out that compensation awarded by the state must adhere to constitutional and legal provisions, emphasizing that such decisions cannot solely rely on a committee's recommendations. He stressed that while the Public Accounts Committee can advise the government, its decisions do not hold greater authority than legal frameworks.

In 2022, the committee had set out guidelines for awarding compensation. However, current members of the Public Accounts Committee expressed concerns that the previous administration may have paid compensation outside the boundaries of these rules, possibly violating the law.

The committee's chair, Qasim Ibrahim, raised the issue of former Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath’s involvement, noting that he had knowledge of how compensation cases were being handled despite decisions made by the Accounts Committee. Gasim added that, even with specific guidelines in place, all actions must still operate within the law.

Several committee members voiced concerns that compensation had been improperly handled, with one member remarking that "the public accounts committee made a rule to us the committee as scapegoat and compensation was given under it" — implying that the process was carried out arbitrarily, giving away substantial state assets, including islands to various individuals.

It has been revealed that in the final days before the change of government during the interim phase, the MDP government had awarded significant compensation without proper review. This included the distribution of state assets valued in the hundreds of millions of rufiyaa, done without the settlements being submitted to the relevant committee.

The Attorney General's Office has since stated that many of the compensation cases under the MDP government were handled illegally. A special team has been formed to investigate these cases, and the current administration, under President Mohamed Muizzu, has dissolved the settlement committee responsible for these decisions. Prior to its dissolution in November last year, the AG's office had also blocked the implementation of 10 settlements that were slated for compensation.