The Criminal Court sentenced former controller general of immigration Mohamed Shamaan Waheed to 25 years in prison after finding him guilty of robbery, abuse of official authority, and money laundering. Shamaan was convicted of extorting MVR 500,000 (US$ 34,370) from a detained foreign national in exchange for his release and later laundering MVR 400,000 by depositing it into his student loan accounts. Delivering the verdict, Judge Ibrahim Hassan imposed the maximum penalties for all three offences: 15 years for money laundering, eight years for robbery, and two years for abuse of official authority. The judge noted that Shamaan had used his position for personal gain rather than to protect migrant workers. His actions had damaged the reputation of the immigration department, he added. Shamaan was also fined MVR 500,000 and ordered to repay the MVR 500,000 taken from the migrant worker. The court also granted the state's request to confiscate money seized from his residence under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
Speaking to reporters before his sentencing hearing, Shamaan made a series of corruption allegations against Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihusan, accusing him of charging MVR 8,000 to approve work permits for expatriate workers. According to Shamaan, an internal inquiry conducted with his team into allegations of quota sales implicated Ihusan. He said he reported the matter to President Muizzu, who dismissed the allegations and accused him of being "disloyal". Shamaan alleged that President Muizzu's failure to act made him complicit in the corruption and maintained that the criminal case against him was fabricated in retaliation. He said evidence supporting his claims was stored on his mobile phone, which is currently in police custody. Ahead of the hearing, Shamaan repeated the allegations on X. In one post, he accused Attorney General Ahmed Usham of involvement in the alleged corruption. In another post, Shamaan said he had presented evidence to the president on January 16, 2025, showing that Ihusan was allegedly taking MVR 8,000 for each migrant worker quota approved and US$ 1,800 for each Bangladeshi worker. According to Shamaan, President Muizzu responded by saying he had received information that Shamaan had a personal agenda against Ihusan and that Ihusan would never engage in illegal conduct. Chief government spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef dismissed Shamaan’s allegations against the president as “completely false”.
The environment ministry published regulations to phase out environmentally harmful single-use plastics by 2030 with fines of up to MVR 100,000 (US$ 6,485) for breaches. The gazetted regulation sets out enforcement for the import, sale and local manufacture of single-use plastics banned under a presidential decree. A first breach draws a warning. From the second onwards, offenders face fines of up to MVR 150 per item based on the quantity produced or imported, capped at a total of MVR 100,000. The Environment Regulation Authority is empowered to inspect and monitor producers and importers. The environment ministry must draw up a phase-out plan within a year of the regulation taking effect, accounting for the environmental and economic impact of reducing each plastic type and the availability of alternatives. Single-use plastics brought in as ship stores for international airlines and for use in departure duty-free areas are exempt. Banned items must be disposed of through a licensed waste management operator.
The Health Protection Agency reported four new measles cases in the Greater Malé area last week, bringing the total to 15 so far this year. Measles cases began reappearing in the capital early last month. The Maldives that had previously been certified measles-free. IGMH has set up a help desk for suspected cases. The HPA noted that measles is currently spreading in neighbouring countries and elsewhere in the world. Symptoms include fever accompanied by a red rash, and the authority urged anyone showing them to seek medical care without delay. The agency advised the public to wear a mask when travelling to hospital, avoid public transport, self-isolate while awaiting test results if measles is suspected, keep up with hygiene, complete their vaccinations, and stay away from crowded places if symptoms appear.
MIFCO raised its skipjack tuna purchase price to MVR 20 per kilo in line with a pledge by President Muizzu. The new rate applies at its fisheries complexes in Felivaru, Kooddoo and Addu, as well as the harbours at Dhaandhoo, Thinadhoo, Faresmaathodaa and Fuvahmulah. Yellowfin tuna between 10 and 15 kilos is also priced at MVR 20 a kilo, rising to MVR 25 for fish heavier than 15 kilos. Managing Director Mohamed Anas told Mihaaru the increase reflected supply and demand, and that the company was working to honour the president's pledge of MVR 20, though the price would continue to fluctuate with market conditions. He said the state fisheries company was trying to hold the price at MVR 18 a kilo even when rates fall, by cutting costs, reducing waste and tightening operations, and that the rise to MVR 20 was also intended to encourage fishermen to go out at a time of low catches. Anas said MIFCO was expanding cold storage to reduce the volume of fish it has to export cheaply as raw fish, work he expected to finish around April next year, after which it could better sustain prices. Since fish prices were allowed to move with the market rate, MIFCO had generally been buying skipjack at around MVR 16 a kilo.
Former heritage minister Adam Naseer Ibrahim resigned as “special advisor on the Dhivehi language and nationhood," a day after assuming the ministerial-rank position. Naseer, who resigned as minister of Dhivehi language, culture and heritage on April 14, took up the post as "special advisor on the Dhivehi language and nationhood," chief government spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef told the media. The appointment follows a pattern of reassignments for the 10 ministers who resigned on the president's instruction after April's council elections: Abdulla Nazim, who was named health minister after previously holding a President's Office post, has likewise been moved back to a President's Office role.
State-owned companies dismissed or suspended at least 11 people this week over political activity, including seven Kooddoo Fisheries Complex workers who went to the airport to welcome former President Nasheed. According to Adhadh, the seven – four from Maamendhoo and three from Vilingili, all long-serving MIFCO staff – were suspended for 14 days. Among them was the husband of a woman who sang a welcoming song, "Jawaahirekey, Nasheedhey Thee" (You are a gem, Nasheed), for Nasheed in Maamendhoo; a video of her performance went semi-viral. Several others were dismissed over the Hithadhoo North by-election, won by MDP candidate Abdulla Sodiq 'Sobe,; including Ahmed Zuhair, a director at the Maldives Transportation Safety Board, who lost his post after his role was abruptly abolished on Sunday after he took a photo with Sobe, his relative. A WAMCO employee was sacked for allegedly campaigning for Sobe; and STELCO finance department worker Mahfooz Husni was dismissed on Monday. Two further WAMCO staff were dismissed after protesting the company's withholding of their pension contributions. Zuhair's son Azaan, chair of the Addu International Airport board, resigned on Monday in protest at his father's dismissal. The government has also been accused of pressuring residents who turned out to welcome Nasheed in Fiyoaree, Gaaf Dhaal. Nasheed said orders had come from Malé telling the council and residents not to greet him, and that officials on the island had forced people gathered on the beach back into their homes. Sobe called on the government to immediately stop dismissing and threatening his campaigners and suspected voters, describing the actions as inhumane. Former MDP chair Fayyaz Ismail also condemned what he called the Muizzu administration's use of employment as a tool of intimidation.
MDP moved polling stations to schools in four islands, a day after MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem warned that holding the vote in party centres could undermine the fairness of its chairperson election. In a letter to interim chairman Abdul Ghafoor Moosa (Gapo), Meekail said that while the elections committee had decided to hold island polling at local schools, the committee chair had unilaterally opted to use MDP meeting halls on four islands (Feeali, Isdhoo-Kalaidhoo, Mathimaradhoo and Vilingili), a decision he called deeply concerning. Following the complaint, ballot boxes for the four constituencies were reassigned to Faafu Atoll School, Isdhoo School and Isdhoo-Kalaidhoo School, Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani School, and the Gaaf Alif Education Centre respectively. The main opposition party holds its chairperson election on Friday. Galolhu South MP Meekail, backed by former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih under the slogan "Ithubaaru" (Trust), will face off against former President Mohamed Nasheed, who has allied with former party chair Fayyaz Ismail under "Bodu Badhalu" (Big Change).
Former finance minister Moosa Zameer said he would remain behind President Muizzu and the PNC in his first remarks since resigning. Zameer said at a PNC rally that his health prevented him from adequately carrying out a finance minister's duties amid the Middle East war. He said it would be wrong to cling to the post and that the PNC had capable young figures he was making way for. Zameer, who served as the government's first foreign minister before moving to finance in September 2024, praised Muizzu's handling of the country's debt – repaying a US$ 500 million sukuk and steering clear of an IMF bailout – as a historic achievement that saved the Maldives from bankruptcy at a time when global financial institutions doubted it could meet the repayment.
A magistrate court ordered the closure of an alleged "drug café" in Hithadhoo, Addu City, the first such order issued by the Addu City magistrate court. Police said the 90-day order was issued on Monday under the Drugs Act against the premises, Laamiyaage Aage, said to have been offering drug use on a café-style basis. Entering a premises closed under such an order without permission during its term is an offence, and police warned of strict legal action against anyone who enters without authorisation or damages the property. A magistrate court in Fuvahmulah issued a similar 85-day closure order last month against a drug café at Gulistaanuge in the city's Funaadu ward. Police said they were continuing to identify and shut down other premises used for drug dealing and drug use. The Criminal Court previously ordered the closure of a drug café in Malé.
Tourist arrivals are down five percent so far this year with 974,043 visitors as of June 8, down from more than one million in the same period last year, tourism ministry figures show. Arrivals this month are down 26 percent following a two percent rise last month and a 24 percent drop in April. Numbers have been falling since March on the back of the Middle East war. China remains the top source market with around 150,000 arrivals, followed by Russia with 130,000. The Maldives drew two million tourists last year and is targeting 2.2 million in 2026.
Australian arrivals have risen 16 percent in the three weeks since direct flights launched, tourism ministry figures show. The Malé–Melbourne route, the first direct air link between the two countries, began on May 17 through a partnership between national carrier Maldivian and Australian travel agency Luxury Escapes. Some 20,878 Australians had visited as of June 6, up from 17,957 in the same period last year, lifting Australia from 10th to ninth among source markets, ahead of Switzerland. The stopover-free route trims the journey to 11 hours, against the 15 to 20 hours typical of flights routed through hubs such as Singapore, Colombo, Kuala Lumpur or Dubai. Maldivian expects to carry around 11,000 Australian tourists a year on the route.
Visit Maldives Corporation reported its highest self-generated income in eight years at its annual general meeting on Monday, even as its profit fell 37 percent. The corporation earned MVR 32.54 million in self-generated income for 2025 – its highest in eight years – from membership fees, international trade fairs, roadshows and publications, but its profit dropped to MVR 17 million. Around 90 percent of the corporation's costs are met by the government, which gave it MVR 154 million from the state budget in each of the past two years. Chairman Abdulla Ghiyas Riyaz told the AGM that the company's improved financial results were a commercial gain, but that its greatest achievement was keeping the Maldives ranked as the world's most popular destination and channelling the economic benefit to the country. The AGM noted the Maldives drew more than two million tourists in 2025, reaching the milestone earlier than ever, while tourism receipts topped US$ 5.57 billion, up 16.4 percent on the previous year.
