STELCO managing director Ahmed Samah was sacked for undisclosed reasons. It came just four months after his appointment. Samah was previously a state minister for fisheries following his dismissal as the CEO of MIFCO after just three months in the post. STELCO Deputy Managing Director Dr Ali Azwar has temporarily assumed leadership and immediately removed Procurement Head Azhad Ramiz from his position, it was widely reported. A purported recording of a conversation with Samah meanwhile leaked online on Sunday evening. He is heard saying that STELCO bosses would "weep" if they knew of his embezzlement schemes. But Samah has dismissed the audio clip as "fake."
The National Drug Agency halted new registrations at rehabilitation centres due to severe overcrowding and inadequate facilities, with Deputy Home Minister Mohamed Rashid telling PSM the drug treatment system has deteriorated over recent years and nearly all addicts relapse. The 28-year-old Himmafushi centre has never undergone maintenance, there is only one counsellor for every 30 addicts, and most patients leave without completing treatment, Rashid told state media. He acknowledged that while ground-level improvements have been made over the past two years, the public has not seen significant visible changes. But he expressed confidence that 2026 will bring a dramatically different landscape with upgraded centres, increased staff, and a strengthened treatment system. The agency plans to prioritise voluntary admissions over court-mandated ones, introduce specialised programmes, and focus on building capacity among professionals and community organisations. According to the NDA, more than 10,000 people use drugs in the Maldives. There are nine drug treatment centres across the country.
Police arrested four suspects and searched 10 locations in Malé and Gaaf Alif atoll as part of a counter-narcotics operation. It was focused on suspects of money laundering and large-scale peddling, police said. The four individuals arrested from Gaaf Alif Villingili during "Operation Alimagu" were Shaffah Latheef (28), Ahmed Madheeh (33), Ahmed Anaam Ibrahim (30), and Noorun Nizam (35). The court ordered Shaffah, Madheeh, and Anaam to be detained until the conclusion of their trial, while Nizam was remanded for 15 days. Some media outlets identified Anaam as a senior political director at the economic ministry.
The tax authority collected MVR 32.7 billion (US$ 2.2 billion) as total revenue in 2025, up from MVR 28 billion in 2024. Total revenue of MVR 3.4 billion in December, more than half of which came from GST, was 30.7 percent higher than the same period in 2024, "mainly due to higher collections of Tourism Sector GST, Tourism Land Rent and Green Tax."
Parliament will return from recess on February 5 for the first session of the year. The first sitting is scheduled to begin at 9am with the annual presidential address on the state of the nation. The official reopening of the People's Majlis is a public holiday.
The revived Kandu Oh Giri facility under MIFCO's management officially began purchasing yellowfin tuna at MVR 25 (US$ 1.63) per kilogram on Saturday. Fisheries Minister Ahmed Shiyam and MIFCO CEO Faruhath Shaheer visited the facility after operations were launched. The island had been returned to MIFCO in September after the government reversed a decision to hand it over to the MNDF in August 2024. While purchasing yellowfin is a presidential pledge, the government has yet to begin construction of a promised processing factory in Hulhumalé.
MACL officially opened the seaplane check-in area at Velana International Airport’s new terminal.
