Financial Crime World

Maldivian Bank Defends Role in Country’s Biggest Corruption Scandal

The Bank of Maldives has defended its role in the country’s biggest corruption scandal, shifting blame to the central bank’s anti-money laundering watchdog. The scandal involves the theft of over MVR1.4 billion (US$91 million) from the state-owned Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation.

Embezzlement Scheme

Dozens of Bank of Maldives employees are alleged to have been involved in the embezzlement scheme, which involved depositing cheques paid to MMPRC into SOF accounts and transferring large sums out. Senior officials were summoned to parliament’s public finance committee after the Anti-Corruption Commission implicated bank employees over alleged collusion.

Concerns Over Oversight

MPs expressed concern over the lack of oversight, questioning why Bank of Maldives allowed cheques issued to MMPRC to be deposited into private bank accounts. Despite MMPRC’s cheque endorsement policy requiring the signature of two board members, cheques honoured by Bank of Maldives were endorsed with only one signature.

Bank’s Response

Deputy Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Shareef insisted that the bank followed legal procedures and reported suspicious transactions to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). However, lawmakers were skeptical, citing a lack of oversight and questioning why Bank of Maldives didn’t halt regular transactions without FIU intervention.

  • Shareef acknowledged that the bank regularly halts transactions while customers provide details.
  • Committee chair MP Mohamed Nashiz pressed for more information on whether this was done without FIU involvement.
  • The bank’s interim risk officer Yameen Adam claimed that after reporting the transactions to the FIU, the bank took action as instructed by the agency.

Controversy Over Account Release

However, MPs were left seeking answers over who gave the order to release the bank account. Initially, BML officials refused to comply, but later revealed that then-FIU head Athif Shakoor and deputy governor Neeza Adam ordered the release of the account.

  • Former FIU chief Shakoor has since denied allegations made against him.
  • Former assistant governor Neeza Imad has also issued a statement denying any involvement.

Social Media Response

The controversy has led to Bank of Maldives being on the defensive on social media, responding to criticism via its official Twitter account for the first time.