Maldives’ biggest corruption scandal exceeded U$90m
The sum of money stolen from public coffers was higher than estimated in a February 2016 audit.
19 Dec 2018, 9:00 AM
The scale of the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation corruption scandal was bigger than estimated in a damning February 2016 audit report that exposed the theft of nearly US$80 million.
At least MVR1.4 billion (US$91 million) was funnelled through a private company into the bank accounts of 155 individuals, the Anti-Corruption Commission revealed in a statement Tuesday, the first time the watchdog has disclosed findings of a probe launched in late 2015.
The bulk of the stolen funds was paid to the MMPRC as acquisition fees for islands and lagoons leased for resort development. Of US$77.5 million worth of checks collected by the state-owned firm, only US$12.5 million ended up in state coffers, the ACC found.
The rest was transferred to private bank accounts with the permission of the MMPRC’s managing director Abdulla Ziyath.
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