Shiyam alleges opposition's 'financial coup' with BML move
He did not initially say who they were, but later named former finance minister Ibrahim Ameer and economic minister Fayyaz Ismail.
Bank of Maldives (BML) move on Sunday to remove foreign transactions from debit and credit cards was an attempt to carry out a financial coup in Maldives under the guise of the main opposition MDP, fisheries minister Ahmed Shiyam said Monday.
He was speaking at a rally attended by President Mohamed Muizzu at the ruling PNC camp Monday evening.
“At dawn yesterday, these people [MDP] were behind the scenes to bring about a financial coup,” he said.
"It's not a coincidence. The MDP was at a press conference when the national bank decided to grab the people's necks."
Repeatedly describing it as an organised, planned coup, Shiyam said the people who were in the forefront of BML’s decision were the ones who were directly trying to bring about a financial coup.
He did not initially say who they were, but later named former finance minister Ibrahim Ameer and economic minister Fayyaz Ismail.
Shiyam's comments come as police launched a "serious investigation" into a "coup" following Bank of Maldives' (BML) decision to temporarily remove foreign transactions from existing debit and credit.
BML on Sunday temporarily banned debit cards and new credit cards issued to Maldivian Rufiyaa accounts to carry out foreign transactions in violation of discussions with the government, the government had said.
The bank changed its decision Sunday evening to allow the central bank, the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), to assist BML in raising foreign exchange.
Economic minister Mohamed Saeed told a news conference at the President's Office Sunday evening that the economic council and BML had decided not to change the card limits despite the difficulty in obtaining dollars. However, the spirit within the bank later changed and BML suddenly came to a decision, he said.
According to Saeed:
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President Mohamed Muizzu wanted BML to make it easier for Maldivian students studying abroad to get dollars
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The president asked the bank not to act in a way that would stop small businesses from getting the dollars they need
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But the bank's decision ended up going against what BML had discussed and agreed
"When the card limitation was introduced, it was not done in the most appropriate manner. There are students studying abroad. There are small businesses that were not considered," Saeed said.
"The bank did it when the president had directly told them not to do it."
