The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has requested Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to provide additional evidence and relevant documents in relation to the corruption charges pressed against Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment Ahmed Mahloof.
ACC charged Mahloof under Article 2(a) of the Anti-Corruption Act, on counts of bribery and embezzlement in relation to the corruption scandal of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC). ACC has also charged Mahloof under Article 521 of the Penal Code of the Maldives for providing false information to an investigative authority. The charges were submitted to the PGO on June 9.
Speaking on the charges raised against Mahloof, media official at the PGO Ahmed Shafeeu said the charges are still under review, adding ACC has been asked to provide additional evidence and relevant documents in relation to the charges. However, he said the PGO has not made any decision on pressing or rejecting the charges.
ACC had earlier revealed Mahloof had received a bribe of USD 33,000 from funds embezzled through MMPRC, to vote in favour of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) bill proposed by the then-administration, when he was a member of the parliament. ACC said Mahloof had arrived in the Maldives from Malaysia just in time for the parliament sitting held on August 27, 2014, where he voted to pass the SEZ bill.
Furthermore, ACC said the investigation had revealed a cheque for USD 33,000 had been deposited to Mahloof’s account by SOF Private Limited, which had acted as the main distributor of the embezzled funds. ACC noted the text messages exchanged between Mahloof and then-Vice President Ahmed Adeeb, as well as the date when the cheque was deposited confirms the funds received by Mahloof were bribes.
ACC further noted Mahloof had submitted a payment receipt to prove that the USD 33,000 deposited by SOF to his account was part of a currency exchange transaction. However, ACC said there is no solid evidence to prove that the funds were transferred for currency exchange.
Following ACC’s decision to submit charges against Mahloof, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ordered the youth minister to step aside from his duties until a decision is made on pressing the charges in court.