Dozens of Bank of Maldives staff implicated in historic embezzlement scheme

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) testified on Tuesday before parliament’s public finance committee about the embezzlement scheme run through the state-owned Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation, during which more than MVR1.4 billion (US$91 million) in money owed to the state as acquisition fees for tourism development leases was siphoned off into private bank accounts.

ACC’s new president, Muaviz Rasheed, told the committee that 38 bank employees colluded in the embezzlement, especially at the clearance stage when cheques issued to the state-owned marketing company were funnelled into private accounts. Muaviz said the number included junior staff and members of the management and the board of the Bank of Maldives, and that all of them were being investigated over their part in the scheme.

Muaviz noted that several cheques which were issued to be deposited into MMPRC bank accounts were diverted to other accounts without the required endorsements. The MMPRC board had passed a board resolution on its cheque endorsement policy, which was also shared with the bank. However, the bank did not follow the policy, Muaviz said.