Four suspects arrested over the heist of 1,360 cigarette cases from the Hulhumalé port were remanded in custody. They were identified as Ahmed Arif 'Aattey,' 61, owner of the Lotus bike shops, Mohamed Waheed 'Dhigali,' 65, CEO of Apollo Holdings, Muaz Ali, 48, a former senior customs official, and Zivar Ismail, 40, a senior customs official who worked at the Hulhumalé terminal. The criminal court remanded Arif and Zivar for 15 days, Waheed for 10 days, and Muaz for five days. Following his arrest, Customs suspended Zivar for 20 days. Muaz, who worked as a general manager at the Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company, was suspended for 30 days. A dozen suspects remain barred from travelling overseas.
Under fire over the loss of the two 40-foot containers from the Hulhumalé port, the Maldives Ports Limited announced a security audit of its commercial harbours. Six ports authority staff were suspended in connection with the theft. As part of reforms undertaken in collaboration with the security services, a separate and secure location will be designated for goods held by Customs, MPL said.
Appearing in parliament, Attorney General Ahmed Usham defended the deal with Malaysia's Bestinet to operate an expatriate worker management system. The decision to renew the agreement halted by the previous government in 2019 did not cause any losses, whereas termination could have entailed compensation, he told MPs.
The central bank granted an inward remittance license to Ooredoo after the local telco announced a strategic partnership with Fintech PayPal World to launch services in the Maldives. The license will enable "seamless, secure, and convenient cross-border money transfers directly to mFaisaa wallets," Ooredoo said.
The Prosecutor General's Office denied failing to pay a registration fee after the High Court rejected an appeal of a drug trafficking acquittal on the grounds of non-payment. Contrary to the registrar's claim of having sent an email seeking the fee on October 5, no such email was received, the PG office said, noting the receipt of other emails from the High Court on the same day. The dismissed case involved charges raised against Irfan Thagiyyu over the smuggling of 72kg of heroin by sea.
Former education minister Dr Aishath Ali was summoned for questioning by the Anti-Corruption Commission. The watchdog's investigators were unable to clarify the charges against her, lawyers told the press.
During President Muizzu's visit to the island, the Maldives Airports Company Ltd commenced land reclamation to develop an airport in Shaviyani Milandhoo. The airport will be operational in 30 months after the reclamation of 40 hectares, the president pledged. Earlier this month, MACL set up a subsidiary to undertake multiple land reclamation projects across the country.
In his ongoing tour of Shaviyani atoll, President Muizzu inaugurated a 30-ton ice plant in Funadhoo and launched projects to build a Maldives National University campus, a sports complex, a new hospital and Islamic centre on the island.
Former police chief Mohamed Hameed denied any wrongdoing in the 2022 single-source procurement of body-worn cameras and tasers from Zetta Technologies. The security technology firm was the exclusive distributor of AXON products. Zetta's offer to serve as general manager came more than a year and a half after his retirement in 2023, he noted, denying any ethical or legal violation in accepting the role.
