Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has revealed it ordered relevant authorities to recover USD130,000 owed to the state in 2021.
In the yearly report for 2021, ACC highlighted the efforts to overcome obstacles and achieve milestones in the prevention and investigation of corruption. The report showed 782 cases were filed at ACC in 2021, with 588 cases concluded and 22 cases sent to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO), which is a higher number of cases filed for prosecution than the previous five years.
Most of the cases were regarding local councils, with 197 cases filed against atoll councils and 117 cases filed against island councils. Investigative teams from the commission had travelled to 48 islands in five atolls as part of the investigations, despite the COVID-19 measures and travel restrictions put in place last year. The report also showed 68 cases were regarding schools and 64 cases were regarding state-owned companies.
ACC notably established the first National Anti-Corruption Policy in the Maldives last year, which aims to investigate corruption at a national level for the next five years.