Yameen alleges ventilator scam funds in overseas account

Former President Abdulla Yameen has alleged that funds linked to the ventilator procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic were deposited into an overseas bank account under the name of a senior official’s son.

The Ministry of Health signed a contract in April 2020 with a company to procure 75 ventilators during the state of health emergency. Under the contract, the company was paid MVR 30 million, equivalent to 90 percent of the contract value. However, only 15 ventilators were delivered, and those were reported to be used units, while the remaining ventilators were not provided.

Speaking at a rally organised by the People’s National Front (PNF) at Artificial Beach on Thursday, Yameen alleged that the contract was awarded without proper due diligence to what he described as a “paper company”. He claimed that a company based in Dubai received 15 percent of the funds, while the remainder went to the perpetrators of the fraud.

“The $810,000 is in a Bank of Ceylon account under the name of a senior official’s son,” Yameen said, without disclosing the identity of the official.

Yameen, who served a five-year sentence after being convicted of money laundering during his presidency but was later overturned, said he would not keep illicit funds under the names of his wife or children. He referred to his son, Zain Abdulla Yameen, saying, “If my money was in the name of my son Zain, Zain would know how to answer. But this is how careless these people are.”

He further argued that unlike other political leaders, he had faced court proceedings directly. “There would be no president who had his accounts examined from one side to the other as mine were,” Yameen said. “There will be no leader who went to court and came out without a sentence except me. Did my sentence hold? Did it not?”

Yameen also alleged that opposition leaders in the Maldives are unable to speak out against the government due to political constraints.