Deputy ambassador to Malaysia sacked

The deputy ambassador to Malaysia and wife of suspended Supreme Court Justice Abdulla Didi has been sacked.

Ghaniya Abdul Ghafoor was appointed by former president Abdulla Yameen.

In response to her dismissal, Ghaniya said: “I was informed last night by the foreign ministry that I have been discharged. I was a political appointee, so obviously the decision was made by the president’s office.” 

The foreign office on Wednesday confirmed Ghaniya had been dismissed but an official announcement has yet to be made.

Ghaniya’s dismissal comes a week after her husband was suspended by the Judicial Service Commission over allegations of bribery and corruption.

Didi is accused of taking a US$ 1 million bribe in 2015 to sentence former President Mohamed Nasheed to 13 years in jail.

He is also accused of receiving money from the $90 million embezzlement of resort acquisition fees by the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation.

According to media reports, the alleged $1 million bribe paid to Didi was deposited in Ghaniya’s US dollar bank account in Malaysia.

But speaking to the Maldives Independent, Ghaniya denied all knowledge of the transaction.

“I did not receive a bank transfer of one million dollars. All bank transactions are on record. If there has been a transfer, it would have been on record and I would have obviously been notified of the transaction,” Ghaniya said.

She pointed out that a transfer of US$ 1 million would not be approved by a bank unless it could be legally sourced.

“That accusation does not make sense. I could not have transferred money that was obtained illegally to my bank account.” 

Ghaniya complained that she had been defamed and unfairly portrayed in the media, and that no government authority had even bothered to ask her if the accusations were true.

“Everybody is quick to judge but that enthusiasm is lacking when it comes to actually finding out the truth. If I have committed a crime, then I should be questioned. But nobody has asked my anything yet,” she said.

After the judicial watchdog suspended Didi last week, the Supreme Court, within just 24 hours, ordered a stay on the suspension.

The JSC chose to ignore the Supreme Court order, while the parliamentary judiciary committee stated the Supreme Court had overstepped its authority.

On Monday, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih entered the fray, signalling his support for the JSC and parliament.

“The constitution clearly defines how the Judicial Service Commission shall be held responsible; which is by summoning the commission to parliament and taking necessary actions through parliament,” Solih said in a statement.