Prosecutor General (PG) Hussain Shameem has stated a decision will soon be made on pressing charges against the beneficiaries of the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) corruption scandal, who are in senior positions of state institutions.
Speaking at a press conference, PG Shameem said the process of pressing charges against MMPRC beneficiaries is currently on hold, although the PG Office is conducting discussions with senior officials of Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and other relevant authorities to decide on ways to proceed.
Noting investigative authorities have pointed to 267 individuals as beneficiaries of the corruption scandal, Shameem said targeting a specific group of people among all beneficiaries would not be the right way forward. However, he said a decision will soon be made on pressing charges against beneficiaries who were in senior positions of the state during the scandal as well as those who are in senior positions in the current administration.
According to the investigation report, beneficiaries of the MMPRC corruption scandal include 44 former parliamentarians, 16 current parliamentarians and 5 senior officials of independent institutions. The report also stated 7 senior officials of the current administration, 7 judges and 23 officers from the security forces received benefits from the corruption scandal. Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed has requested relevant authorities to reveal the names of parliamentarians accused of receiving benefits from MMPRC.
The investigation into the scandal revealed over USD 220 million was embezzled from MMPRC through 2014 and 2015. The Presidential Commission on Corruption and Asset Recovery reported the MMPRC beneficiaries used the embezzled funds for political purposes.