Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has begun work to request an order to re-freeze the bank accounts of SOF Private Limited.
SOF is alleged to have distributed the funds embezzled from the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations (MMPRC). The company is accused of making transactions totaling USD60 million and selling US dollars to Maldivian companies without a license.
The bank accounts of SOF were frozen in 2018 at the request of the Ministry of Tourism. At the time, the Civil Court of the Maldives ordered that nine accounts be frozen including those owned by the shareholder of the company Mohamed Allam Latheef as well as his father’s personal account.
ACC has begun work to request an order to re-freeze the accounts after the Civil Court reversed its decision. ACC has said it has been fully prepared to make the request. It is unclear which institution requested that the bank accounts be unfrozen and the commission is working to quickly obtain the order to re-freeze the accounts.
The MMPRC corruption scandal involves the largest embezzlement of state funds in the history of the Maldives, with investigations suggesting that the total amount embezzled is over USD220 million. The Parliament of the Maldives publicised a list of 281 beneficiaries of the corruption scandal, which includes 119 state officials, and 16 parliamentarians.