Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom was summoned and questioned by police on Monday about the largest tourism scandal in the history of the archipelago.
At 2:00 pm, President Yameen presented himself at the police headquarters.
Yameen was summoned for questioning while on Tuesday the Criminal Court is preparing to deliver a verdict on his money laundering trial. President Yameen is charged with depositing funds received by the State Tourism Company, Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) through a private company as acquisition costs for leasing tourism islands and generating profit from the funds.
The MMPRC scandal’s internal audit report disclosed that MMPRC embezzled over $79 million.
While the corruption investigation is still ongoing, former vice president Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor, who is embroiled in the corruption, has assisted the investigation by disclosing the case information.
Police compiled a list of beneficiaries who obtained the embezzled funds based on Adeeb’s information. Several parliamentarians, judges, cabinet ministers and journalists are included in the extensive list.
While 16 members of the current parliament were named in the list, three cabinet ministers were also mentioned, including Fisheries Minister Zaha Waheed, Communications Minister Mohamed Maleeh Jamal and Youth Minister Ahmed Mahloof. Minister Zaha was recently summoned by the police and questioned over the scandal.
