Ex-minister appointed as ambassador to Japan

Former Presidential Affairs Minister Mohamed Hussain ‘Mundhu’ Shareef has been appointed to head the Maldives’ diplomatic mission in Japan.

MPs approved his nomination on Tuesday.

Shareef, the son of Asma Rasheed, an MP of the ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives, will replace Ahmed Khaleel.

“I have always been involved with work related to foreign affairs, so this is not an unfamiliar territory for me,” Shareef told newspaper on Thursday Mihaaru. “This is the first time I have been given the opportunity to work in the Foreign Services.”

Shareef resigned from the cabinet in October when he was told to stay home in an apparent purge of former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb’s supporters from the government.

The purge followed a blast on President Abdulla Yameen’s speedboat on September 28. Adeeb has since been convicted of terrorism over the alleged assassination plot.

Shareef was briefly detained in Malaysia during a raid on the home of Adeeb’s close associate and relative, Hamid Ismail. The businessman was arrested on suspicion of links to the boat blast.

Shareef was also accused of corruption in a MVR 3.7million (US$24,000) catering contract awarded by the president’s office for a state banquet to mark the Maldives’ Golden Jubilee of Independence.

But prosecutors sent the case back to the Anti-Corruption Commission for further review. The watchdog later said that the case was closed due to lack of evidence and “reasons that cannot be disclosed to the press.”