Committee seeks SIM cap regulations roll out in 15 days
The committee also approved a direction to MMA’s financial intelligence unit to strengthen the internal policies of the banks.
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By
Aishath Fareeha Abdulla
Parliament's State Owned Enterprises (SOE) Committee has passed a resolution to limit the number of SIMs registered to one person and direct the Communications Authority of Maldives (CAM) to complete and gazette relevant regulations within 15 days.
The SOE committee, which examined the issue of scam calls and siphoning of money from bank accounts, passed the report on Thursday.
While the committee's report was published on the parliament's website on Wednesday, it was decided to direct the CAM to ensure that the phone numbers used in the Maldives are registered and to establish a system to easily identify their owners.
Though pre-activated SIM sales have been banned from December, it has been observed that the problem of SIM cards registered earlier has not been addressed, the report said.
The report further points out:
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To direct CAM to ensure that all the numbers used in the country are registered
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Limit access to SIM cards to a certain amount within 15 days of parliament passing its report
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CAM to frame rules to regulate SIM cards and ask to gazette it within 15 days
The committee also approved a direction to MMA’s financial intelligence unit to strengthen the internal policies of the banks so that customer rights are not compromised.
The report further points out:
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To pass amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, Transfer of Legal Assistance in Criminal Cases Act and the Criminal Procedure Code to prevent such crimes at the earliest
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To direct Correctional Service o strengthen mechanisms to control illegal smuggling of material into jails to prevent crimes or scams in prison
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A multi-agency task force, led by MMA, along with a mechanism for agencies to collaborate closely on such issues to be established within 15 days of the parliament adopting the committee report
