Gifts to state officials amount to bribery, Yameen says

Former President Abdulla Yameen has urged authorities to investigate the financial statements of MPs, alleging that undeclared wealth and gifts recorded as “donations” should be treated as bribes.

At a meeting of his People’s National Front (PNF) on Monday, Yameen criticised the recently published financial declarations of ruling party leaders, claiming that they contained inconsistencies between reported income and declared assets. He noted that some MPs had listed significant gifts from benefactors without disclosing details, while others had loans that did not correspond to their declared income.

Yameen questioned how PNC parliamentary group leader and Inguraidhoo MP Ibrahim Falaah had secured a loan of MVR 15.7 million from the Bank of Maldives when his six accounts contained just over MVR 100,000. He also highlighted Falaah’s repayments of nearly MVR 500,000 this year despite the discrepancy in income, alleging that such omissions amounted to hiding funds and potentially money laundering.

He argued that financial statements prepared and submitted directly by MPs lacked independent oversight and should instead be audited. “There is no one to review and verify the information. The accounts can be submitted as members wish,” Yameen said.

He called on the Anti-Corruption Commission, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office and the police to investigate the matter, questioning whether Attorney General Ahmed Usham should advise President Dr Mohamed Muizzu to take action against MPs if their financial records were inconsistent.

The financial statements released last week showed that:

Yameen, who is accused of the MMPRC corruption scandal during his presidency, said the discrepancies underscored the need for stricter scrutiny and warned that failure to act would undermine public trust in state institutions.