Dhuvaafaru council corruption case sent to PG
After completing its investigation into the case, ACC forwarded the case to the PG Office for duty prosecution.
By
Mariyam Umna Ismail
Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has forwarded a case they investigated over the alleged embezzlement of funds worth MVR 2 million to personal accounts of R. Dhuvaafaru councillors, to the Prosecutor General's Office (PG Office) for further deliberations
Following corruption intel, a monitoring report prepared by an investigation team from the Local Government Authority (LGA) noted that there were major issues with the council's actions in financial matters. The report also revealed that councillors had deposited funds to private accounts illegally.
LGA submitted the case to ACC in July, and they are still conducting inquiries on the matter.
The ACC has been active on the island from 25 August to 8 September. The ACC investigation also noted that a large amount of money was carried out in violation of the regulations.
After completing its investigation into the case, ACC forwarded the case to the PG Office for duty prosecution.
"While the charges have been forwarded to PG for deliberations, we will continue disclosing further details of those involved in the case," the ACC said in a statement.
Duty prosecution:
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This is the process of information exchanges between the investigative agency and the PG Office before charges are filed
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It will also be confirmed that sufficient evidence has been obtained to prove the charges against the court in this process.
LGA’s monitoring report noted:
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MVR 1.7 million had been deposited to private accounts of councillors, Women's Development Committee (WDC) members and council employees
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Over MVR 100,000 in cash, handed over to councillors, WDC members and council employees, unauthorised.
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Almost MVR 400,000 of Zakat collections were also deposited to the personal accounts of the members.
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Councillors and council employees have neglected managing state funds and assets.
While LGA has stated that Zakat funds have been embezzled, the Islamic ministry has stated that they have confirmed that the Dhuvaafaru Council had distributed Zakat.
