The state has pressed criminal charges against former head of Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) at Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Athif Shakoor.
According to the Prosecutor General's Office, criminal charges have been pressed against Athif Shakoor over violation of the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Act. However, Prosecutor General's Office did not reveal any further details of the case.
FIU is an operationally independent unit at MMA mandated and established under Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Act. FIU is the central national agency for receiving, analysing and disseminating information concerning money laundering activities, terrorism financing activities and proceeds of crime. The main function of FIU is to receive financial transaction reports from various reporting institutions, analyse them and, as appropriate, disseminate valuable financial information to law enforcement agencies and regulatory authorities.
Athif Shakoor was in charge of the FIU for a little over 7 months, when public funds were mishandled via Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC). Athif is accused of failure to take action over the scandal. He resigned from the position in June, 2015 before the scandal was exposed.
Athif did not specify the reason of his resignation at the time. However, when questioned by a parliamentary committee over the matter in 2019, Athif said he resigned due to failure to follow the lawful mandate of the position.
The anti-money laundering law states committing an act of money laundering or assisting in money laundering are serious offenses which are punishable with substantial penalties. According to the law, a prison sentence of 2 to 10 years will be ruled with an additional fine between USD 3,227 and USD 32,270 if found guilty of being an accessory to money laundering.