Deputy Speaker of Parliament Eva Abdulla has proposed a motion to oust senior figures of the current government who received state funds embezzled from the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) corruption scandal.
Investigative authorities have sent a list of 281 individuals who received financial benefits in the scandal. The list is being reviewed by a joint committee consisting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security Services and the Parliamentary Committee Judiciary Committee.
At the committee meeting on May 10, Deputy Speaker Eva said the committee should focus on dealing with individuals on the list who are still working in the government, since they might use their positions to influence the investigation. She proposed to oust them from their positions even if there is not enough evidence to file criminal charges.
Parliamentarian Hisaan Hussain seconded her motion, stating that suspects in the MMPRC corruption case should not be allowed to hold government positions and should be ousted as soon as possible. She highlighted the suggestion of the Presidential Commission on Corruption and State Asset Recovery to prosecute them to recover the embezzled funds even if there are no sufficient evidence against them.
Following the request of the commission to keep the names on the list as a secret, Parliamentarian Imthiyaz Fahmy, who is the chair of the joint committee, urged members to avoid making public any of the names during the meetings.
Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed had expressed disappointment over the investigation of the MMPRC corruption case, and urged the Parliament to review the case and bring it to a satisfying conclusion.
The MMPRC corruption scandal involves the largest embezzlement of state funds in the history of the Maldives, with current investigations suggesting that the total amount embezzled is over USD 220 million.