‘Billions’ owed to the state

A commission set up by President Abdulla Yameen to recover lost or stolen money has identified where billions of rufiyaa is owed.

The State Asset Recovery Commission (SARC) said Tuesday it had identified more than MVR 3.6 billion (US$235 million) owed from islands leased for tourism development, while MVR 7.5 million is owed as unpaid goods and services tax (GST).

The five-member commission is currently only investigating cases involving outstanding sums in excess of MVR 5 million.

Legal proceedings are under way to recover this money from all the cases concerned, the commission said.

It was formed last July to oversee the recovery of state assets flagged by the auditor general’s office and the anti-corruption watchdog as misused or stolen.

Attorney General Mohamed Anil said at the time that efforts were underway to recover nearly US$80 million stolen from the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation under the current administration’s watch.

The embezzlement of resort lease payments and other funds from the state-owned MMPRC was the biggest corruption scandal in Maldivian history.