MDP questions sudden surge in foreign reserves

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party has called for an inquiry into the sudden hike in Maldives’ foreign reserves.

The source of some US$400million is unknown, the party said in a report issued on Monday. The MDP had previously accused the central bank Maldives Monetary Authority of helping to launder some US$1.5billion last year.

Foreign currency reserves abruptly rose to US$700million in 2015, according to publicly available statistics by MMA, the party said. But usable reserves stood at US$200million.

The MDP said it was raising questions over the reserve because “there is no basis to explain the increment,” given the revenue collected by the tax authority, and a slowdown in economic growth and foreign direct investment last year. The central bank had also slashed minimum reserve requirement for commercial banks last year, the report noted.