Ex Auditor General weighs in on Maldives’ biggest corruption scandal
Full transcript of former Auditor General Niyaz’s interview detailing the extent of complicity by state officials, including President Yameen and MPs, in the embezzlement of hundreds of millions of dollars from state coffers.
23 Feb 2016, 9:00 AM
Former Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim, in the first television interview since his abrupt removal from office, has made shocking allegations over President Abdulla Yameen’s involvement in the embezzlement of public funds.
In an explosive interview with Raajje TV on Saturday, Niyaz also estimated that as much as MVR3.5billion (US$230million), and not US$80million as noted by the press, has been lost from the recent scandal involving the state-owned tourism promotion firm Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation.
When he first flagged the issue in a 2014 report, Niyaz said some 14 members of his family received death threats. He was subsequently removed from his job. Yameen had also offered him a luxury flat at the time, he said.
The US$6million he had flagged was probably spent during the contested parliamentary elections of 2014, which saw a win for the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives.
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