ACC seeks prosecution of Montillion over USD 150,000 linked to MMPRC scandal

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has asked the Prosecutor General’s Office to file a money laundering charge against Montillion International over USD 150,000 allegedly linked to the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) corruption scandal.

Montillion International, which was previously partly owned by former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb before he became tourism minister, was later transferred to Saeed Hussain and Shahid Hussain, who are understood to be members of Adeeb’s family.

The company is currently in the process of being dissolved.

According to the ACC, a joint investigation conducted with police found that Montillion was used as an intermediary in transactions intended to launder money linked to the MMPRC corruption case.

The commission said large sums connected to the MMPRC case were transferred from a US dollar account belonging to SOF Private Limited to Montillion through two cheques, with Adeeb allegedly acting as an intermediary.

The ACC said the two cheques deposited into Montillion totalled USD 150,000.

According to the commission, the person primarily responsible for Montillion at the time accepted and used the funds despite circumstances that should have raised suspicion that the money represented proceeds of crime.

On that basis, the ACC has asked the Prosecutor General’s Office to prosecute the company for money laundering.

The commission has also decided that MMPRC should be instructed to recover the USD 150,000 transferred to Montillion.

Companies identified in cases connected to the MMPRC corruption scandal have included SOF, which belonged to Allam Mohamed Latheef, also known as Moho, who was described as a close associate of Adeeb; Montillion International; and Millennium Capital, linked to Adeeb’s elder brother, Hamid Ismail.

Cases were previously filed in court to recover money owed to MMPRC from the three companies, with judgments issued against them.

Adeeb was previously sentenced to 20 years in prison after admitting his involvement in the MMPRC corruption scandal. He was later released after receiving a presidential pardon from then-President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih during the final days of his administration.