The rot at the top: Will President Yameen answer for corruption?
The anti-corruption watchdog has promised to question President Abdulla Yameen if required in order to conduct a thorough investigation of a tourism corruption scandal that has embroiled his former deputy, home minister and MPs. But critics are questioning the commission’s integrity.
14 Jan 2016, 9:00 AM
The anti-corruption watchdog has promised to question President Abdulla Yameen, if necessary, for a thorough investigation of what may be the the country’s biggest ever tourism scandal, one that has embroiled the home minister, MPs and the former vice president.
The former Auditor General Niyaz, however, has raised doubts over the Anti Corruption Commission’s integrity, claiming the watchdog has been “paralysed” because of a systematic crackdown on watchdog institutions.
The ACC had failed to launch an investigation when the misappropriation of public funds from the tourism promotion firm, the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation, was first flagged in a 2014 report, Niyaz said. The report resulted in the former auditor general losing his job.
“I don’t think ACC can undertake an independent investigation. The government of Maldives has systematically paralyzed all oversight agencies of the state. Plus, members of ACC are likely to face impeachment if they ever initiate an investigation into Yameen’s alleged involvement in these corruption cases,” he said.
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