Ex-minister labels police probe as "defamation and intimidation"
"It's not in the slightest bit even related to me," Fayyaz said.
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By
Shahudha Mohamed
Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson Fayyaz Ismail has alleged that he was summoned and questioned by the government to defame the opposition party leaders ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections and create fear among the people.
Fayyaz was summoned to Sergeant Adam Haleem Criminal Investigation Building near Henveiru stadium on Thursday for questioning in connection with the alleged embezzlement of MVR 14 million received by the Road Development Corporation (RDC) during the previous government.
After answering police questions, Fayyaz told reporters outside that he had been produced before the police at the direct request of the President and Home Minister Ali Ihsan.
"The police asked me about a loan taken in September 2022 from a company belonging to some people associated with me. That's MVR 160,000," Fayyaz said, adding that the company does business with RDC.
According to the former government's Economic Minister:
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The police were trying to imply that the company affiliated with Fayyaz was trading with the RDC and that it had received funds through RDC transactions
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Fayyaz said the police should investigate if the company's dealings with RDC were in accordance with the law first
"It's not in the slightest bit even related to me," Fayyaz said.
"I don't know why they had to ask me that question. On the website of the President's Office and in the financial report submitted by the Auditor General, the company revealed that I had taken the loan and put it down in the asset declaration."
In this case, the purpose of being summoned and questioned this way , Fayyaz believes is to try to create fear by summoning senior opposition leaders in a “pointless” manner ahead of the parliamentary elections.
He added that:
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Over the past five years, a lot of hard work and a lot of expense has been incurred to keep the police department up to date on a professional standard
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However, today we see the effects of MDP stepping away from power for only four months
"...this is something that Happy Market Ihsan is doing at the request of President Muizzu. However, the matter is very clear. It was done to slaughter our reputation among the people by making something that was already revealed into a big deal," Fayyaz alleged.
After that, Fayyaz posted on X about it. In that post, he mentioned the same things.
“The government's purpose in conducting this investigation is to create fear in the hearts of the people by showing them that I am being mucked about,” Fayyaz said.
"Using the police force for political purposes will interfere with the performance of the police's normal duty. I urge the government to stop such illegal activities”.
Fayyaz has accused this of being done for political purposes when he first received the summons. However, he did say he would cooperate fully with the investigation.
Police announced that they are investigating the RDC fraud case at a press conference held on the 3rd of this month. This is a case that the agency has been investigating since 2022, police said at the press conference.
Police are investigating a case in which the money in the RDC account was transferred to the personal account of a senior employee of the company.
