Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed has stated the investigation into the corruption scandal of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) could lead to some parliamentarians losing their seats.
Speaking on the request by Parliamentarian Hassan Latheef to speed up the investigation of the MMPRC graft, Speaker Nasheed said the inquiry conducted into the case by the parliament committee has not been effective. Therefore, he said a request has been submitted to the Prosecutor General’s Office, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Maldives Police Service and the Presidential Commission on Corruption and Asset Recovery to further investigate the case and bring the perpetrators to justice.
Speaking further, the speaker assured that the parliament would do everything in its power to complete the investigation into the MMPRC corruption scandal. Noting senior officials of the previous and current administrations, as well as former and current parliamentarians are involved in the graft, Nasheed said some parliamentarians may lose their seats following the conclusion of the investigation.
The MMPRC corruption scandal involves the largest embezzlement of state funds in the history of the Maldives. During a press conference held in July last year, the Presidential Commission on Corruption and Asset Recovery revealed 37 islands and 12 lagoons had been fraudulently leased through MMPRC for resort development between 2014 and 2015. The commission said the total price of the islands alone amount to USD 210 million, while the total amount embezzled would rise to at least USD 260 million if the lagoons are priced.
Meanwhile, the initial investigation report of ACC identified 267 beneficiaries of the scandal, including 44 ex-parliamentarians, 16 sitting parliamentarians, 7 judges, 7 senior officials of the current government, 5 senior officials of independent institutions and 23 officers from security forces.