Additional reporting by Luke Powell
The Maldives government has to pay US$50 million to State Bank of India (SBI) next month, Finance Minister Abdulla Jihad has stated.
In December 2012 the Maldives government paid US$50 million to SBI, who refused to extend the period of the treasury bonds issued by the bank during the previous government, local media reported.
Speaking to local newspaper Haveeru, Jihad said the government is yet to come to an arrangement to pay the next US$50 million installment to SBI, explaining that the money will have to come from the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).
“The US$50 million due in February will have to be paid from the reserve. We have been ordered to pay the amount. There has been no change to the order so far. So it must be paid,” Jihad was quoted as saying in local media.
Following increased tensions between the Indian government and Maldives government over the airport dispute with Indian infrastructure giant GMR – which was evicted from the country by the present government in December 2012 – India turned down a request to extend the treasury bond period.
Payment of the debt will see the state’s reserves fall below US$140 million – less than a month of imports.
On top of the debts due to SBI, GMR is currently seeking compensation for the contract termination in the Singapore Court of Arbitration, which it has calculated at US$800 million.
The company’s lenders, including Axis Bank, have meanwhile called in their loans, for which the Maldives’ Finance Ministry is the guarantor.
Attorney General Azima Shukoor recently claimed that although the previous Attorney General may have signed the guarantor document, the government would argue that is could not act as a guarantor under the Public Finance Act without parliament’s approval, which was allegedly not obtained.
“The State is acting as the guarantor to the loans taken based on the transactions between GMR and Axis Bank. I believe that is not something permitted under the Finance Act. It is like a blanket sovereign guarantee,” Shukoor told local media in December.
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Maldives will be able to pay this and somehow Waheed will find a way to settle this.
Nasheed had robbed this country and taken huge bribes from GMR and gave the airport for peanuts just because Nasheed and his colleagues got huge cut out of the deal.
Maldives will never have to pay any compensation and in fact GMR will have to pay the compensation for bring the authorities.
Nasheed and GMR jointly trying to scare the people and Minivan is trying to spared the message . No matter what Minivan and Nasheed tries, you will never win the case.
screws r getting tightened....perhaps pink pants azima shukur can dole out the US green-backs huh?
Where is the proof! It's given by under the international biding process through world bank (IFC). Waheed's regime is dubious. How could dubious govnmt would say it's dubious!
Dont worry, i will lend the govt.. The money, i have lots spare money from one or two clever oil investments. Anyway, when I come to power, i will get it all back........ With interest!!
hai allah, where are we gonna get this US$50 million to give to the sooper pawer indians? I think we will have to sell our women to get this money he he he.
Maybe our good friends the chinese can lend us this money. They can lend us a few extra dollars so I can go to a propah skool and learn good inglis
GMR deal is dubious and there are proofs also.
So called international bidding process had not take properly and it was more of personal process to get GMR awarded.
GMR was disqualified in the first round and how come they won the bid if it was proper international bid ?
It may be first time in the history when the disqualified party win the bid and they won it my myth.
@Kuribee on Sun, 27th Jan 2013 6:07 PM
You've changed your nick again, but your brain is still repeating the same old broken record, the same mantra of fiction. Time to change shampoo, me thinks...
@Kuribee, your assertion,if true,would be startling to say the least. Is there any documentary evidence that supports your claims? If yes, where can I the same? Links to neutral articles, investigative reports, third party documentation...just anything.Cheers!!
Kuribee; we're not paying for your idiocy.
Pay it yourself.
What? You can't? Too bad. We'll cut you open and sell your organs to pay for it.
PS: Kuribee, you can claim it all you want; but you'll never be able to prove it. Because the IMF and the World Bank oversaw the transactions.
Now unless you're claiming that the IMF and the World Bank is a branch of the MDP, kindly show proof.
yesterday news from Indian Express Group newspaper ....a mother in Rajastan has sold her 11 yrs daughter for IRs.6 lakhs .to prostitution ring.this happen every minute because of poverty in Sooper India .so it is Indian mentality this joker think every national sell women.There is a complaint from Australia many Indian girls go their with student visa but sell themselves and make money.
My friends you need a kidney??..go to a autorickshaw driver near Devagi hospital in dirty Chennai..he can arrange a kidney suitable to you within an hour jus for USD 300- so cheap...
Anyone need a baby go to Gujarat and pay USD 500- to a married woman she will carry your baby for 9 months deliver it and you can fly with baby with documents saying you are the father.
some joker Indian work in Maldives to feed his poverty family use my pen name KURVI....he can`t use his name such a coward...like an average Indian who worship ex-Italain baby sitter
Chinese are just 20 Km from South Indian baadaar(inglish for Boarder)..soon they will caress Mallu babies...in the night...and dhoty wearing defence minister(look like a clown in military parade)will challenge Chinese.by mouth .and Poddle.of Italian woman .yes madam PM Singh will remain silent
better option to ask Abdulla who star problems for maldives...and one more leader...both person hv to pay for maldives....why they cant do for nations....???????????????
Lets see how this goes and you will find it true in due course
@kurbi now yu have to sell yur mother sister wife or daughter to india to pay the debts we have helped yu and yu are talking like this what is ther in your country what yu grow it is just a shit of sea animals you are living and calling it a country see your face man a beeger is allways a beeger now beg to afghanistan somalia saudi pakistan for money even if this country collect and donate yu it will not be sufficient in india anil ambanis weath is equal to 10 countries gdp your country is no where go and study economicsor go to china or pakistan
kurvi.as far as i know India has not done anything bad to Maldives. Correct me if i am wrong...............
Man, this guy kurvi sure is so pissed off about India. All he does is dig around to find dirt about India and Indians. Unfortunately for him, given their are over a billion of them, no body seems to be giving him much attention.
You are right kurvi, Indians will do anything to earn money. And Maldivians won't do any thing to deserve it.