The economic development ministry has fined 22 businesses for employing foreigners as cashiers against new rules enforced on April 1, reports Haveeru.
Deputy minister Adam Thowfeek told the local daily that the ministry inspected 295 shops, cafés, and restaurants in Malé and found 49 with foreigners working as cashiers.
The ministry has imposed a fine of MVR2,000 (US$130) on 22 establishments.
Thowfeek said the ministry will check businesses in other islands through councils and warned that operating licenses could be revoked for repeated violations.
The government banned foreigners working as cashiers in in an attempt to boost employment among local young people. Some 26.5 per cent of Maldivians aged 15 to 24 are unemployed, according to World Bank figures from 2013, the most recent figures available.
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