Opposition files corruption cases against president, speaker and defence minister

All three complaints relate to “misusing state resources” on person trips in breach of the law prohibiting corruption, lawyer Mohamed Shaheed told the press. “No one is blind to the fact that a record amount is being spent on travel and travel expenses have exceeded the budget,” he said.

President Solih is accused of using the official presidential speedboat during the parliamentary election campaign. Ahead of the polls in April, the president’s spokesman said the speedboat was used on the insistence of the Maldives National Defence Force for unspecified security reasons.

Speaker Mohamed Nasheed is accused of using parliament media staff during a recent trip to the southern atolls. Parliament’s Twitter account announced it as an official trip but Shaheed insisted it was a personal visit.