Anti-Corruption Commission of Maldives (ACC) has submitted a case at Prosector General's Office to raise charges against Athif Shakoor, the former head of Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) at Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).
ACC accuses Athif Shakoor for not taking necessary actions when FIU received reports on the corruption scandal of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC). ACC says the funds deposited to the bank accounts of SOF Private Limited from MMPRC is clearly regarded as money laundering but Athif Shakoor took no action on the matter when he had the knowledge of the corruption case worth at least USD 100 million.
ACC reveals Athif Shakoor had admitted to filing the case instead of reporting to Maldives Police Service (MPS). ACC notes although Athif had sent mail to his superiors over the corruption case, there is no documental evidence that he received instructions to file the case. ACC has asked the Prosector General to raise charges against Athif on using his authority as the head of FIU to ensure a certain party receive benefits by dishonest or fraudulent means.
However, Athif has maintained that he had acted upon instructions from his superiors, adding he submitted his resignation over the matter.
In March, ACC revealed it has taken a statement from Athif Shakoor regarding the case. He was also questioned by the Parliamentary Committee on Finance regarding the financial transactions made as part of the MMPRC corruption scandal.
FIU is an operationally independent unit mandated and established under Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Act law within MMA. FIU is the central national agency for receiving, analysing and disseminating information concerning money laundering activities, terrorism financing activities and proceeds of crime.
The main function of FIU is to receive financial transaction reports from various reporting institutions, analyse them and, as appropriate, disseminate valuable financial information to law enforcement agencies and regulatory authorities.