Month: October 2014

Tourism Minister implicated in US$6million corruption scandal

An audit report has implicated Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb in a corruption scandal involving US$6million, a day after ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) amended the Audit Law to reappoint the Auditor General (AG).

AG Niyaz Ibrahim, in today’s special audit report, said the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Company (MMPRC) obtained a US$1million loan from Maldives Tourism Development Corporation in the guise of making an urgent payment to a foreign party and subsequently loaned the money to a company owned by Adeeb’s father.

Adeeb owned a 35 percent share in Montillion International Private Ltd, but transferred his shares to his father in March 2012 when he assumed the post of Tourism Minister.

The company only made MVR 70,100 in 2011 through trade, but in the period between 2012 and 2014, US$ 6.8 million and MVR 3.6 million from tourism related business rolled through the company’s accounts, the report noted.

In a separate case, the MMPRC also asked the Maldives Ports Ltd (MPL) to hand over MVR 77.1million to pay the company US$5million at a later date. MPL agreed to transaction despite demonstrating no need for dollars.

MMPRC immediately transferred MVR 77.1million to a private company Millenium Capital Management Pvt Ltd. Only US$ 3 million of the pledged US$5million has been paid back. The audit report said Adeeb helped MMPRC push the deal through.

It also suggested the Tourism Ministry awarded a company owned by an Italian an island for resort development to pay back US$2.25million of the US$6million MMPRC owed to MPL and MTDC.

According to the report, Adeeb has failed to declare assets as per Article 138 of the Constitution since he took up the post of Tourism Minister.

The Tourism Ministry and Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) refused to cooperate with the investigation, the report noted.

In a tweet Adeeb has condemned the report as politically motivated.

Channel News Maldives (CNM) broke the story of the US$6million corruption scandal in May. Its reporter Abdulla Haseen was charged with disobedience to order in August, but the Prosecutor General withdrew the charges a few weeks later.

Minivan News understands former deputy Speaker of Majlis Mohamed Nazim was involved in leaking documents to CNM. His passport was withheld last week, but Nazim left the country on the date the warrant was issued.

Millenium, Montillion, New Mood

Niyaz said MMPRC had obtained MVR77.1million from MPL and US$1million from MTDC to provide illegal loans to private companies.

Although MPL approved the MVR 77.1million payment in exchange for US$5 million, the company had no need of dollars and the transaction was made on MMPRC’s initiation, not MPL’s.

Further, MPL’s 2014 budget shows it required only US$2.2million for machinery in 2014, but the bidding process had not been opened at the time of transaction. MPL also had US$800,000 in treasury bonds and a large amount of dollars in its accounts.

Moreover, MMPRC is not authorized to engage in dollar trade and does not have the capacity to buy or sell US$5 million, as its working capital at the end of 2013 stood at US$4.5million and assets were only worth MVR 324,485.

MPL authorized the “risky” transfer after MMPRC issued two dated checks. When MMPRC failed to make its second payment of US$2.5 million on July 8, the agreement was amended to allow the company to pay back the money by December 1. The report said the amendment was made because Millennium failed to repay MMPRC on time.

In the second case, MMPRC on April 9 asked MTDC for an urgent loan of US$1million to make an urgent payment to a foreign party for tourism promotion. The loan was to be paid back by May 15.

The money was transferred to Adeeb’s father’s company Montillion on April 15.

But MMPRC made no payment to any foreign party in the period. The loan was paid back by New Mood Resort Pvt Ltd, which was given Dhaalu Atoll Maagau Island, at a head lease rent of US$2.25 million.

Toursim Ministry and MIRA refused to reveal details of the Maagau deal despite repeated requests, the audit report said.

Montillion is also accused of bribing a senior tourism ministry official with US$450,000 in February in a separate resort development deal.

Neither the Finance Ministry nor the MMPRC board were involved in either case. The MMPRC’s Managing Director Abdullah Ziyath personally handled all of the transactions, including picking up checks, against the company’s procedures.

Niyaz has recommended all individuals involved in the two cases be investigated for corruption and charged with abuse of power.

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Everything will change once Rilwan is found, police commissioner tells Haveeru

Police Commissioner Hussein Waheed has said that everything happening in Maldivian society would change if missing Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan were to be found.

In an exclusive interview with Haveeru, Waheed denied police negligence in the investigation while again refusing to reveal any specifics into the investigation’s progress.

“Saying that Rilwan hadn’t been found, I don’t believe any slips have been made in the investigation which would justify the accusation. But there are lessons to be learned with every investigation. We are learning the lessons,” he said.

Rilwan’s family yesterday lodged an official complaint with the Police Integrity Commission, accusing police of negligence in investigating the 28-year-old’s disappearance, as well as disrespect shown towards the family.

Waheed today repeated suggestions previously made by the home minister that non-governmental and media organisations were partially responsible for the apparently stalled investigation.

A reports commissioned by the Maldivian Democracy Network suggested radicalised gangs were the most likely culprits in the abduction 83 days ago. Police later dismissed the findings as irresponsible, though home minister has since acknowledged gang involvement in the disappearance.

“No one should think that we have forgotten about Rilwan’s case,” Waheed told Haveeru today.

“There are many different analyses. Considering the current progress of the investigation, and given that I manage investigative teams, I cannot, at the moment, give you 100 percent confirmation that a gang or group was involved in this.”

Asked if investigations had led police to believe Rilwan was still alive, Waheed only replied that they had found no evidence he was dead.

Numerous international group – most recently Amnesty International – have called upon police to expedite investigations.

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Fuvahmulah couple the latest to travel to ISIS territory for jihad

A couple from Fuvahmulah are reported to be the latest Maldivians to have left the country in order to wage jihad in Syria.

Local media has reported that Ahmed Munsih and his wife Suma Ali told family last night that they were already in Syria and that they would not be returning.

The news follows reports last week that four members of the same family, from Raa Atoll Meedhoo, had travelled to ISIS held territory –  currently comprising large swathes of Syria and Iraq.

Police Commissioner Hussain Waheed told Haveeru that efforts were underway to discourage those wishing to travel for jihad.

In September, an online jihadist group Bilad Al Sham Media – believed to be based in Syria and the Maldives – claimed that a total of four Maldivian men had now been killed while fighting in the Syrian civil war.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has claimed that up to 200 Maldivians are on jihad, telling international media that ex-security servicemen were often among those travelling to fight abroad.

“Radical Islam is getting very, very strong in the Maldives. Their strength in the military and in the police is very significant,” the opposition leader told the UK’s Independent newspaper last month.

On September 5, a protest march took took place in Malé with participants bearing the Islamic State’s flag calling for the implementation of Islamic Shariah in the Maldives.

‘We want the laws of the Quran, not the green book [Maldivian constitution]‘, ‘Islam will eradicate secularism’, ‘No democracy, we want just Islam’, and ‘Shariah will dominate the world’, read some of the placards carried by protesters.

The UK government last week said it was aware of ISIS sympathisers in the Maldives, and that it will continue to “engage” with the government regarding religious moderation.

In late August, Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon condemned “the crimes committed against innocent civilians by the organisation which identifies itself as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.”

Dunya’s remarks followed Islamic Minister Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed’s declaration that the ISIS would not be allowed to operate in the Maldives.

“ISIS is an extremist group. No space will be given for their ideology and activities in the Maldives,” Shaheem tweeted on August 24.

Intelligence service provider ‘The Soufan Group’ has estimated that as many as 12,000 fighters from at least 81 countries have joined civil war in Syria

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Malé floods made worse due to poor condition of roads, says Malé deputy mayor

Malé City Council Deputy Mayor Shifa Mohamed says that controlling today’s floods (October 30) is made more difficult with the current condition of the capital’s roads.

Shifa told Minivan News that poor planning and a lack of maintenance had exacerbated the floods occurring across Malé City today (October 30) after heavy downpours in the morning and the afternoon.

“The drains on the sides of the roads have not been properly emptied for over 25 years. There are all sorts of junk in the drains which is clogging up the drainage system leading to floods with the slightest bit of rain,” said Shifa.

Many major roads in the the capital are currently flooded disrupting transportation with much of the south-west of the 6km sq island under water – rising a foot high in many places.

Te department of meteorology has explained that 58 millimeters of rain were recorded in the capital during two hours this morning.

The MET office predicts heavy rain in the next two days. However, wind speeds are expected to be moderate.

Local media reported that police vehicles were being used to transport students, left stranded across the city, to and from the schools.

Communications were also affected, with heavy thunder this morning damaging Dhiraagu and Television Maldives equipment, leading  to network problems and delays in the broadcast from of the state television channel.

Shifa said that the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) is assisting the council with draining the water by setting up pumps at locations most severely affected by the floods.

“We have also diverted half of our waste management team to assist the MNDF in controlling the floods and requested assistance from the National Disaster Management Centre,” explained Shifa.

The deputy mayor accused the government of having misplaced priorities, referring to the planned Malé-Hulhulé bridge project. Shifa argued that the residents of Malé do not need a bridge connecting them with the airport while the roads are in such a condition.

She also stressed the importance of reaching a mutual understanding with the government and the city council regarding the roads, urging collective efforts to repair the roads.

Malé City Council – dominated by the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – was  formed by the 2010 Decentralisation Act – has experienced fraught relations with the central government since the fall of the MDP government in 2012.

Mayor Mohamed Shihab has complained that the main difficulty facing the council is obtaining the resources required to manage the rapidly expanding city.

Last week the council complained that is had not been informed before the cancellation of an agreement with Indian firm Tatva to to provide waste management services in the capital Malé and nearby areas.

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Palm trees used by MDP to curse President Yameen, alleges senior government official

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) were using areca palm trees planted in Malé by the city council for black magic to curse President Abdulla Yameen with ill health, an anonymous senior government official has alleged.

“The palm trees were planted with black magic,” the unnamed official told newspaper Haveeru today, claiming that the sorcery or black magic was the reason for the main opposition party’s concern and preoccupation with the felling of the trees in the early hours of October 24.

Former President Mohamed Nasheed alleged that masked Specialist Operations (SO) police officers in plainclothes chopped down the palm trees with machetes.

Patrolling police officers from the Maafanu police station arrested two of the perpetrators, Nasheed told the press on Tuesday (October 28), claiming that the suspects were handed over to the SO on the orders of a senior official from the SO command.

The pair were taken to the police Iskandhar Koshi barracks on an SO vehicle, he claimed.

Commissioner of Police Hussain Waheed held a press conference yesterday and denied police involvement in the incident, dismissing the opposition leader’s allegations as “baseless”.

Haveeru meanwhile claimed to have learned that the palm trees were cut down because senior government officials believed the MDP was using the trees to practice black magic.

The local daily claimed that senior members of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) believe that the trees were planted for use in black magic or sorcery, noting that several areca palm trees were uprooted during anti-government protests in January 2012.

The MDP-dominated city council planted the palm trees – donated by the Indian High Commission – in October 2011 as part of efforts to make the capital greener.

President’s health

Haveeru also referred to rumours of President Yameen undergoing brain surgery in Singapore to remove a tumour following his most recent unofficial trip to the country.

President’s Office Spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz had dismissed the rumours as false and assured that the president and first lady were in good health, after MDP leader Nasheed had questioned Yameen’s absence from the country.

A close associate of President Yameen told the newspaper that the president did not seek treatment for a brain tumour.

Instead, the associate claimed, the president sought treatment for infections caught during his Hajj pilgrimage and had to be admitted at a Singapore hospital.

The anonymous government official said the president’s close associates believe that black magic or sorcery using the palm trees were responsible for the president’s ill health.

The associates advised President Yameen that the palm trees were the cause of his health problems, the senior official said.

“[They] believe that [President Yameen’s] health worsens with every palm frond that falls off the areca palm trees. And that his health would worsen further with every tree that blossoms,” the anonymous official was quoted as saying.

The official further claimed that the housing ministry had sent a letter to the home ministry requesting the trees be taken down.

“Those who [chopped down the trees] did it because the home ministry wouldn’t,” the president’s close associate told the local daily.

“This has to be done for the sake of national security as well. That is the palm trees can be taken down when the head of state’s life is in danger,” he was quoted as saying.

“President Yameen got relief when the palm trees were cut down. And the black magic is being exposed by the MDP’s actions, isn’t it? Less than 24 hours after the palm trees were cut down, [MDP MP Reeko] Moosa [Manik] announced he would contest in the [MDP’s presidential] primary.”

Allegations supported

Police officers have also told Haveeru on condition of anonymity that former President Nasheed’s allegations were true.

“We were on duty that night. The police command said masked men were cutting down the trees,” a police officer claimed.

A second police source alleged that the two or three groups of officers from the SO SWAT who cut down the trees were wearing SO balaclavas or masks.

“The Maafanu police caught two groups. They caught one on Lily Magu and he fell when they struck him on the back,” the police source alleged.

Credible sources have corroborated the claims to Minivan News, revealing that the incident has caused a rift between the SO and capital police commands.

In May 2012, police raided the MDP’s Usfasgadu protest camp over “suspected black magic performed in the area.”

The search warrant obtained from the Criminal Court alleged that on May 25 “MDP protesters threw a cursed rooster at MNDF officers.”

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Bank of Maldives’ net profit increases 105 percent in third quarter

The Bank of Maldives Plc Ltd (BML) has announced a net profit of MVR205 million (US$13.2 million) for the third quarter of 2014, an increase of 105 percent on the previous quarter.

The national bank noted in a press that sources of income increased while “costs were well controlled and the quality of the loan book continued to improve.”

“The Bank continues to move in the right direction across most key yardsticks. Financial performance is solid. During the quarter we demonstrated our commitment to step up financial inclusion as we launched point-of-sale cash withdrawal services in 9 islands which previously had novbanking facilities – this figure will rise to 50 islands by year end,” CEO and Managing Director Andrew Healy stated.

He also noted that the bank had taken important steps towards modernisation and improving customer service through the introduction of new technology systems.

“This is very important technology which gives the Bank much greater flexibility in terms of the services we can provide to customers. I would like to say thank you to our customers for your patience as we moved from one system to another. We are confident you will see the benefits of the changes we have made moving forward,” said Healy.

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Missing journalist’s family accuses police of negligence, files complaint

Missing Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan’s family has accused police of negligence in investigating the reporter’s disappearance and has filed a formal complaint with the Police Integrity Commission (PIC).

Speaking at a press conference today, Rilwan’s sister Mariyam Fazna noted that 82 days had passed without apparent progress in police investigations.

“Our family is in deep mourning. We have no way forward. We believe police negligence is behind the lack of progress in finding Rilwan,” said Fazna.

The police have failed to take the case seriously, despite an abduction outside Rilwan’s apartment building on the night of his disappearance and reports that he had received numerous death threats and had been followed, she said.

Eyewitnesses had reported the abduction at knifepoint at around 2am on August 8, but police only took their statements on August 14, the family said. The police had also failed to track down and search the car used in the abduction.

“If the abduction had been investigated immediately at the right time, the police would have been able to find the victim and clarify if it is our brother or not,” Fazna said.

The police only searched Rilwan’s apartment 29 hours after the abduction was reported and searched his office 11 days afterwards. The police also failed to make a public announcement on Rilwan’s disappearance – despite a request by the family – and did not inform the public on how to act if they had any information related to the case, the family explained further.

Meanwhile, Rilwan’s sister Fathimath Shehenaz condemned the police for disrespecting a family in grief, pointing to a police statement on September 23 in which they claimed political parties were using the family to obtain information about the investigation.

“These words are extremely disrespectful to a family suffering the disappearance of a loved one,” she said.

The People’s Majlis on Tuesday threw out a 5055 signature petition urging MPs to pressure police for a through and speedy investigation. The parliament secretariat later admitted the rejection was “a mistake,” according to MP Imthiyaz Fahmy who sponsored the petition.

Four men have been arrested over Rilwan’s disappearance, but only one man remains in custody at present. The police have revealed few details on the case.

Home Minister Umar Naseer said he believed Rilwan is alive and promised to return him safe to his family. He has also acknowledged involvement of criminal gangs in the case.

Human rights NGO Maldivian Democracy Network released a report in September implicating radicalised gangs in Rilwan’s disappearance.

Discounting theories of voluntary disappearance and suicide, the investigation – conducted by Glasgow-based Athena Intelligence and Security – concludes the disappearance is likely to have been an abduction.

The report confirmed evidence of possible “hostile surveillance” at the terminal conducted by two known affiliates of Malé based Kuda Henveiru gang.

The NGO on October 23 accused the police of negligence in investigating the disappearance for their failure to inform the public on progress and failure to confirm if the abduction reported on the night Rilwan went missing was related to his disappearance.

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“President Yameen, the world is watching you”, warns Australian senator

Australian Senator James McGrath has warned President Abdulla Yameen that the eyes of the world are on the Maldives’ deteriorating human rights situation.

“Do not lead your country into the shadows of fear and hate and violence. Stamp on ISIS and the other agents of hate. Let the Maldives be free – President Yameen, the world is watching you,” McGrath told the Australian Senate yesterday (October 28).

The Queensland senator told the house of judicial corruption, political violence, media suppression, and religious extremism in the Indian Ocean nation.

He gave special attention the the ongoing Supreme Court case against the Human Rights Commission (HRCM) and the disappearance of Minivan News journalist Ahmed Rilwan 82 days ago.

McGrath informed the assembly that he had worked with former President Mohamed Nasheed during his successful 2008 presidential election campaign, describing the transition to democracy as a “political fairy tale”.

The governing Progressive Party of Maldives last week accused Nasheed’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) of attempting to use the international community to influence the case against the HRCM, to “discredit Maldives reputation”, and to “impoverish the Maldivian people”.

Recent events in the Maldives, including consistent attacks and threats against opposition MPs and property, have prompted concern from the EU, Amnesty International, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, and the Canadian government.

McGrath – who described the suo moto proceedings used against both the HRCM and the Elections Commission earlier this year as “unusual” – said “a worrying trend has been for the supreme court to violate the separation of powers outlined in the 2008 constitution”.

Noting the likely abduction of 28-year-old journalist Rilwan had come after a series of attacks on the media in recent years, McGrath observed a “slide into authoritarianism and religious extremism” in the aftermath Nasheed’s departure from office in February 2012.

The senator’s comments regarding ISIS followed one week after UK Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Tobias Ellwood responded to a written question from Karen Lumley MP on the group’s potential activities in the Maldives.

“We are aware of the activity of ISIL sympathisers in the Maldives, and we will continue to engage with the Maldives government about the promotion of religious freedom and moderation,” Ellwood informed Lumley.

While up to four Maldivians are reported to have been killed fighting in the Syrian civil war this year, a family of four were reported to have migrated to ISIS held territory last week.

Up to 200 demonstrators marched through the capital Malé last month, brandishing the flag made famous by ISIS, calling for the full implementation of Shariah in the Indian-ocean archipalego.

McGrath yesterday expressed alarm at recent moves to subject the publication of poems and prose to government approval – a move he called “blatant censorship” – before concluding his speech.

“The world is watching you president Yameen. Be a true leader and let your people be free. Let them speak freely, let them be without fear of violence, let them have rights of association, let them talk right and join together as free peoples.”

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Commissioner says arrests made on night of areca palm vandalism unrelated

Commissioner of Police Hussain Waheed says the arrests made on the night of the areca palm tree felling are unrelated to the case, and that the Maldives Police Service (MPS) is working ceaselessly to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Speaking at a press conference held at MPS Iskandhar Koshi, Waheed also said various allegations made by different people accusing MPS of involvement in the vandalism are baseless and that that it is trying its best to clear itself from such allegations.

In response to a question as to who the people detained are, Waheed replied by saying that MPS knows who was detained and that these people were involved in a wholly unrelated incident.

Yesterday (October 28), former President Mohamed Nasheed submitted details of police officers he believed to behind the vandalism to the Malé City Council after it had requested the public to submit any information.

“How can people who were sleeping at the time of crime know what the names of the perpetrators were even when the police officers on scene did not take their details?” said Waheed in response to Nasheed’s information.

Nasheed had alleged that two men were arrested by Maafannu police at around 3am following the incident before a senior official from the Special Operations (SO) unit arrived and demanded the arrested men to be put into an SO vehicle.

Two officers from Maafannu Police followed the SO vehicle after the arrested men were handed over, only to find that the vehicle entered Iskandhar Koshi police headquarters, explained the former president.

Nasheed also accused one high ranking police official of revising a statement put forward by a Maafannu Police officer at the scene that night, cutting down a two-page statements to half a page and instructing other officers at the station to not speak about the incident.

“Measures would be taken against the people who make false allegations about the MPS which does hard work in order to ensure the protection and the well-being of the community,” warned Waheed.

Minister of Home Affairs Umar Naseer revealed in a tweet yesterday that he had received Nasheed’s report.

“This govt will NOT ask Police/MNDF to carryout anything unlawful,” wrote Naseer.

The home minister has also instructed all police executives to assist the Police Integrity Commission it any investigation.

A police media official confirmed Minivan News yesterday that a professional standards investigation is being carried out after the increasing prevalence of reports of police involvement in the incident.

MDP Malé MPs voiced their concerns to the media over the increase of crimes in the capital and accused the government of “state sponsored terrorism” in its refusal to take adequate actions for the crimes happening in Malé.

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