The Criminal Court accepted qazf charges (false accusation of adultery or fornication) filed by the Prosecutor General’s Office against Adhadhu CEO Hussain Fiyaz Moosa and Editor Hassan Mohamed over the "Aisha" documentary in which a former staffer alleged a sexual relationship with President Muizzu. Judge Muzammil Nasir also issued a gag order barring anyone from sharing the video, discussing the allegations “directly or indirectly” or associating the documentary with “any party to the case or a victim of the (qazf) crime”. The judge also ruled the trial will be held behind closed doors, citing the need to uphold "public morality" under Article 42(c)(1) of the constitution. He prohibited lawyers from disclosing information about the trial or documents obtained through discovery. Any violation could amount to contempt of court. The charges were filed 14 days after Muizzu warned of legal action at a press conference, prompting a police raid the same night in which 20 electronic devices were seized from Adhadhu's office. Travel bans were imposed on Fiyaz and Hassan the following day.
The Elections Commission instructed all political parties to comply with the Criminal Court's gag order on the Aisha case, warning that violations would be treated as contempt of court. An EC official told Adhadhu that the order had been forwarded by the Prosecutor General's Office, which instructed it to share the order with political parties and monitor their compliance.
Tourism industry losses from the US-Israel war on Iran have exceeded US$ 500 million since March, two industry associations said in a joint statement urging the government to intervene with emergency support for local operators. The Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators and the National Hotels and Guesthouses Association of Maldives said the estimate was based on arrival trends, booking patterns and cancellations, with significant declines through March and April and continued weakness into May. Forward bookings across several key source markets remain under pressure, the associations said, warning that many local guesthouses and travel agencies could go out of business without intervention. MATATO and NHGAM called for special loan facilities and emergency financing for SMEs, interest-free moratoriums, loan restructuring, tax deferrals and fee waivers, as well as government action on airport fuel pricing and rising construction material costs.
Former President Nasheed defended his involvement in the Commonwealth Union Blockchain Network, a cryptocurrency token facing scrutiny over alleged signs of a potential high-level scam. Nasheed, who is listed on the network’s advisory board, posted a “fact-clearing statement” on X, arguing that the global financial system is evolving and that “digital currencies and blockchain infrastructure are no longer fringe ideas” but part of global financial strategy. He said the initiative was developed in accordance with the Commonwealth Model Law on Digital Assets and is connected to 56 Commonwealth countries and seven nations in the Middle East and North Africa region. The project is overseen by an international advisory board made up of former prime ministers, regulators, central bank officials and industry leaders, with a governance and funding model intended to support long-term implementation and transparency. Former Ghanaian president John Agyekum Kufuor joined the advisory board last week. According to an on-chain analysis, 73 percent of the token's one billion supply was distributed across 195 wallets that had been funded within six lamports (one billionth of a SOL) of each other and had created their token accounts within a one-second window on April 9, indicating they were almost certainly controlled by a single entity.
Former President Nasheed pushed back against the foreign ministry criticising remarks he made about discussions held during the Indian Ocean Dialogue, arguing that scrutinising, understanding and criticising the foreign and domestic policies of an incumbent government is a key responsibility of the opposition. Nasheed added that the Maldives belongs to “all Maldivian people” and not “Dr Muizzu, who has less than 30 percent approval,” while stressing that the government must use foreign financial assistance responsibly.
The Anti-Corruption Commission filed money laundering charges against Popular Maldives, a company owned by the children of former MP Riyaz Rasheed and implicated in the MMPRC corruption scandal over the below-market lease of Thaa Olhugiri. According to the ACC, US$ 150,000 was deposited into Popular Maldives’ bank account on July 13, 2015 through a cheque issued by Scores of Flair, a company used to channel misappropriated funds from the MMPRC. The commission said Popular Maldives attempted to conceal the source of the funds by presenting the transaction as a dollar exchange. The ACC further alleged that the lease payment for Thaa Olhugiri was made using illicitly obtained funds. Under the lease agreement, the company was required to develop a resort within 36 months but failed to do so. As a result, the ACC said it would seek to recover the US$ 150,000 and request the tourism ministry to repossess Olhugiri.
Police arrested a Maldivian man and a Bangladeshi national in Malé after they were allegedly found in possession of more than one kilogram of drugs. Mohamed Fauzaan, 35, and Zakir Hossein, 29, were detained on Thursday, and the Criminal Court ordered them to be remanded for 10 and 15 days respectively.
The Met office announced the onset of the southwest monsoon for the southern region on May 8, following two consecutive days in which 60 percent of weather stations in southern atolls recorded daily rainfall greater than 2.5mm and southwest to westerly winds with speeds greater than 10 knots. The wet season starts in southern regions during the first or second week of May before extending to central and northern regions by the end of the month.
Olive Ridley Project opened a Sea Turtle Health Institute at Crown & Champa’s Jawakara Island in Lhaviyani atoll.
