Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has sent the monitoring report of the Dhuvaafaru Island Council to the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) for consultation with the duty prosecution and relevant authorities.
In the report, ACC noted that a large number of financial transactions have been conducted by the council in violation of the rules. A special team from ACC was deployed in Dhuvaafaru from August 25 to September 8. ACC said the investigation into the case was completed on September 30. The commission said the case has been referred to the PGO for consultation and that it will continue to disclose further details including the names of those who can be prosecuted.
The Local Government Authority (LGA) also released a report on the corruption in Dhuvaafaru. The report highlighted the corrupt financial transactions within the council. The report published showed multiple incidents of the council mismanaging its finances, including corruption related to the handling of Zakat payments, handing over projects without bids in order to benefit council employees, and conducting business dealings without filing the necessary documentation. As such, the council was found to have transferred funds to the council director, the council president, and its members, as well as the women’s development committee (WDC) and contract employees without clear indications as to the purpose of the transfer. LGA has found that the council has transferred thousands of US dollars in total.
Furthermore, LGA said it had given the council a reasonable period to respond to the issues identified during the monitoring before the report was released. LGA has also asked the investigating agencies to look further into the issues identified in the report and take action against those responsible.