Smuggled cigarettes seized by Customs in April were stolen from the Hulhumalé port. The 1,360 cigarette cases (13.6 million sticks) – which would have cost more than MVR 100 million (US$ 6.5 million) as import duties – had been found concealed in a plywood shipment that arrived at the Hulhumalé sea cargo terminal. They were then kept in the custody of the Maldives Ports Limited until the smuggling investigation could be concluded. But the two 40-foot containers were found to be empty on Wednesday night after police intelligence was tipped off to the heist. An internal investigation is underway, MPL told the media.
MDP Chairman Fayyaz Ismail was summoned to the Anti-Corruption Commission for next Monday over alleged unfair compensation paid to Swift Engineering. The former economic minister is accused of abusing his authority as a member of the previous administration's settlement committee. Fayyaz denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the allegations as politically motivated. Saudhulla Hilmy, the owner of Swift Engineering and a ruling party lawmaker, meanwhile denied having received any funds as compensation. According to the MP for Thinadhoo North, the settlement committee had awarded new projects in exchange for halting six projects undertaken by the company. Swift Engineering would have won a large payout if the dispute had been litigated, he contended.
Former finance minister Ibrahim Ameer was also summoned to appear at the ACC on Sunday. He accused the anti-graft watchdog of seeking to intimidate and frame former government officials at the behest of President Muizzu.
Addu City experienced renewed power outages with intermittent disruptions over the past three weeks. The recent power cuts were blamed on high loads and generator malfunctions. Public anger has been directed towards the state utility Fenaka Corporation as outages have persisted throughout the year.
Two men were arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, assault and extortion, police revealed. Mohamed Sameer, 29, and Shahumeen Rasheed, 27, were accused of undressing the victim at knifepoint, taking nude photos and videos, and stealing cash after holding and beating the person inside a Hulhumalé home. They were arrested with a court order on October 4 after further alleged attempts to extort money from the victim. The court remanded Sameer for 10 days and detained Shahumeen pending the outcome of his trial.
The US state department advised visitors to “exercise increased caution” in an updated travel advisory for the Maldives.
Parliament refused to disclose Counsel General Fathimath Filza’s legal advice on the media regulation bill passed last month, Dhauru reported, after two weeks of unsuccessful attempts to obtain the information.
A police officer arrested for transporting an injured motorcyclist without reporting the accident in Hulhumalé on September 12 was suspended. Mohamed Hassan, 33, was arrested last Tuesday. He was released with conditions on the following day after police decided the investigation could proceed without keeping the suspect in custody. The officer had taken the injured person to hospital in his cruiser after the 1am accident but failed to report the incident or remain at the scene.
Police recovered over MVR 221,243 lost to scams. Some 42 scam-related crimes were reported between September 28 and October 4 with total losses amounting to MVR 318,342.50. Online transactions and e-commerce scams accounted for the majority of the cases and phone calls was the most common method, according to the Anti-Scam Centre.
Reesham Mohamed Shareef was appointed to MIFCO's board of directors, as pledged by the president to expand fishermen's role in managing the state fisheries company. Three board positions, including chairman, remain vacant.
Parliament's general affairs committee approved amendments allowing MPs to attend sittings without ties or while wearing national or cultural attire. The change was proposed by Speaker Abdul Raheem after opposition lawmakers stopped wearing ties in protest against ministers not appearing to answer their questions. The revised rules also include a formal dress code that prohibits casual clothing like jeans, T-shirts, and slippers.
President Muizzu renamed TradeNet Maldives as the Maldives Innovation and Digital Company, with a mandate to carry out the government's "digital transformation agenda, strengthening its role in leading and supporting national initiatives in innovation, technology, and digitalisation."
