Police not investigating Waheed–Epstein links, minister says
Waheed resigned from his position as adviser to President Mohamed Muizzu on 3 February after the emails were made public.
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Police have not opened an investigation into allegations involving former president Mohamed Waheed Hassan and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Home Minister Ali Ihusan said on Thursday.
The comments were made during a press conference at the President's Office.
Files released by the United States Department of Justice include emails linked to Epstein. Some emails attributed to Waheed were circulated on social media.
Waheed resigned from his position as adviser to President Mohamed Muizzu on 3 February after the emails were made public.
The president later said that Waheed stepped down at his request.
At Thursday’s press conference, a journalist asked whether the Maldives Police Service had opened an investigation.
In response, Ihusan said no complaint had been filed with the police and therefore no investigation had begun.
“So far, no allegation of a criminal offence has been filed with the police service. We have not initiated any such investigation,” Ihusan said.
He added that police would investigate the matter if a complaint alleging a criminal offence is submitted.
Emails included in the documents refer to tourism projects discussed by Waheed.
According to the material circulated online, one email referred to the Innahera project and stated that Waheed wished to discuss the project with Epstein.
Another message contained details relating to the Fuggiri and Innahera projects.
The email suggested that Fuggiri could be developed for high-end visitors and stated that Epstein could work with investors from the Middle East and Russia to manage the development.
Another email referred to an offer from a Singaporean company for the Innahera project that would allocate 10 percent to a local company. Waheed suggested visiting the Maldives to explore other options.
An email also mentioned that publishers in the United Kingdom were seeking to publish a book about the period Waheed served as vice president and president and asked for assistance in identifying a publisher in the United States.
In a statement issued earlier, Waheed’s office said he met Epstein when the charges filed against him in 2008 were not widely known.
The statement said Waheed would not have had further meetings or communications with Epstein if he had been aware of the charges at the time.
