Ambassador of Maldives to the European Union and the United Kingdom, Ahmed Shiaan has revealed that Maldives will seek assistance from other countries to investigate judges suspected of taking bribes and hijacking the Supreme Court to drag the island nation into political crisis.
The government of Maldives is aware that the judges have made at least 12 visits in the past few months to various countries, including India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the Netherlands and UK, the Maldivian Ambassador Shiaan said in an interview to Reuters. The Ambassador added the judges have bought or acquired very expensive items or properties, with dollars of large amounts, beyond the reach of a Judge's salary, also deposited to affiliated bank accounts. He also noted that USD 2.4 million were separately wired to the judges by a private firm.
Revealing the investigation is not limited to Maldives due to reasons as such, the Ambassador noted the authorities of Maldives would need assistance from other countries for the investigation and mentioned the property purchases abroad needed to be disclosed.
The Ambassador reiterated that the two judges had persuaded the other three Supreme Court justices to pass rulings at midnight, out of the blue and without any new evidence, to free political prisoners and order the retrial of ex-president Mohamed Nasheed, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2015. The judges also tried to remove the Attorney-General, the Prosecutor-General, the Police Commissioner and President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who declared a State of Emergency to reverse the ruling of the Supreme Court, added Ambassador Shiaan.
The Ambassador underscored the importance given to all-party talks from the Government to solve the current turmoil. He described the direct attempt by the Supreme Court to halt the whole country and go into a deadlock amounts to conspiracy to overthrow a democratically elected and constitutional government.