President of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Adam Shamil has stated an evaluation is being conducted before making changes to the policies related to state asset recovery.
Speaking to PSM News, ACC President Shamil highlighted the importance of making changes to its policies. He said the commission is looking into the systems for asset recovery implemented in other countries and that its evaluation has shown that the Maldives needs a better asset recovery system. He said the current system diffuses the responsibilities for state asset recovery by fragmenting the work into different institutions. He noted the importance of having a better system of accountability in order to determine which institutions are responsible for the different aspects of the work, and where the investigation separates into criminal and legal work.
Additionally, ACC President Shamil expressed confidence that state funds can be recovered after the policies are changed. He added that the commission’s most important work is the recovery of state funds and that it is prioritising cases that involve state asset recovery.
The largest case of state asset recovery is the MMPRC corruption scandal, involving the embezzlement of over USD194 million through the lease of several islands and lagoons for resort development between 2014 and 2015. Some of the senior officials of the previous administration, including former President Abdulla Yameen, former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb, and former Managing Director of MMPRC Abdulla Ziyath have received sentences over different charges related to the MMPRC scandal. However, it is believed the total number of beneficiaries from the scandal is above 200, including government ministers, parliamentarians, judges, as well as police and military officers.