Corruption
Inside the kleptocrat's mind: why Maldives' corrupt elite believe they deserve to steal
From patronage networks to self-justifying narratives.
07 Oct 2025, 15:25
The Shujau files: how inauguration funds became luxury apartments
The Financial Intelligence Unit documented suspected misappropriation.
05 Aug 2025, 21:35
Corruption probe widens beyond US$23 million police housing scandal
A whistleblower alleged "widespread corruption" beyond the housing project.
16 Feb 2025, 16:00
“Little to no progress”: Maldives slides on corruption index
Maldives ranked among the two-thirds of countries with the worst perception score.
11 Feb 2025, 17:30
Ex-head of Financial Intelligence Unit accused of graft
Athif Shakoor is accused of purposely not alerting the authorities to suspicious transactions.
02 Jul 2019, 09:00
Five graft cases sent for prosecution in H1
Nearly 800 cases were investigated in the first six months of the year.
18 Sep 2018, 09:00
Corruption and embezzlement behind Yameen’s development, alleges Ibu
The president has set his 2018 re-election bid on infrastructure projects.
02 Sep 2018, 09:00
I ran the country and Yameen counted cash, says Adeeb
The MMPRC scandal is the biggest graft case in the history of the Maldives.
22 Jul 2018, 09:00
Maldives listed among ‘highly corrupt countries’
The Corruption Perception Index scores and ranks countries by their perceived level of public sector corruption using a scale of zero to 100, where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
22 Feb 2018, 09:00
US$875m lost or stolen from state coffers says Maldives
The Maldives declares that more than MVR13billion (US$875 million) has been lost or stolen from state coffers since 1999, as it announces efforts to recover assets lost in high-profile corruption case from former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s era.
12 Oct 2017, 09:00
Maldives anti-corruption watchdog assessed
Only one corruption-related case reached conviction between 2010 and 2014 despite 175 cases being submitted for prosecution by the Anti-Corruption Commission.
02 Oct 2017, 09:00
Anti-corruption watchdog seeks charges against ex-STELCO chief
The Anti-Corruption Commission sought charges against Abdul Shukoor, STELCO’s former managing director, and Mohamed Saleem, head of the finance department, over an MVR3 million (US$194,550) advance payment made to a private company that was not licensed for currency exchange
01 Aug 2017, 09:00
No corruption in use of state resources for rally marking Yameen’s third year in office
The ACC declared legal expenses from the state budget and forced attendance for civil servants because the rally was organised by the government and not the ruling party.
11 Feb 2017, 09:00
Yameen condemned for linking corruption to human nature
“A quality in human nature will remain among Maldivians as well,” the president had said of corruption
22 Jan 2017, 09:00
Tourism firms win legal bids to recover property despite evidence of graft
Two companies involved in the MMPRC scandal have won legal bids to recover an island and a lagoon seized by the Maldivian authorities after an audit report revealed that the state did not receive acquisition fees.
10 Jan 2017, 09:00
Former MMPRC chief faces new corruption charges
The ACC has asked the chief prosecutor to press corruption charges and initiate legal proceedings against Abdulla Ziyath to seize a plot of land he bought from public funds embezzled from MMPRC
14 Dec 2016, 09:00
Anti-graft watchdog prompts criticism for ruling out corruption in biggest ever property deal
The anti-graft watchdog has come under fire for declaring legal the government’s choice of a contractor to build a new wing for Malé’s public hospital, a project worth MVR2.1billion (US$140million)
13 Dec 2016, 09:00
Transparency calls for ‘broad investigation’ after corruption exposé
Anti-corruption NGO Transparency Maldives has called for a broad and independent investigation into allegations raised in an Al Jazeera exposé about systemic corruption, abuse of power and criminal activity at the highest level of government.
13 Sep 2016, 09:00
‘Let me know if you need a lawyer’
Omkar Khandekar recounts the police raid on the Maldives Independent’s office in the wake of the much-anticipated release of Al Jazeera’s corruption exposé Stealing Paradise.
13 Sep 2016, 09:00
Al Jazeera corruption exposé dismissed as ‘defamatory and biased’
The government has dismissed an explosive Al Jazeera corruption exposé aired on Wednesday as defamatory and biased, accusing the Qatari broadcaster of advancing the opposition’s agenda to oust President Abdulla Yameen.
08 Sep 2016, 09:00
