The special audit of the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation implicated former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb’s associates in the theft of US$65.01 million collected as acquisition costs from leasing islands, lagoons and plots of land for tourism.
The beneficiaries of the unprecedented corruption scandal are said to include ministers and MPs from the ruling parties.
According to the main opposition party, the MMPRC had distributed some US$205 million to private companies. The MDP also published a picture of a deposit slip that appears to show US$500,000 was deposited to an account under the name of Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom at the Maldives Islamic Bank on October 12.
But the audit office has denied omitting any information or facing undue influence from the government.
Yameen has also dismissed allegations of his involvement in the corruption scandal as baseless.
According to the audit report, the missing funds also include US$6.13 million paid to private companies to buy dollars, US$6.15 million provided as loans, and US$1.9 million released without any documentation.
The bulk of the stolen funds – US$70 million – was siphoned off into the bank account of a local company called Scores of Flair, owned by Mohamed Allam Latheef ‘Moho,’ a close associate of Adeeb who fled the country in the wake of the September 28 blast on the president’s speedboat.
Allam, the lead singer of a popular local band called Scores of Flair, was among eight suspects wanted in connection with the alleged assassination attempt. An Interpol red notice has since been issued for his arrest.
The rest of the stolen funds were deposited into the accounts of a company linked to Hamid Ismail, an influential businessman and relative of the detained vice president.
While US$7.50 million was siphoned off into Hamid’s Millenium Capital Management Pvt Ltd, the audit revealed that US$1.15 million was deposited into the accounts of Montillion International Pvt Ltd.
Adeeb had reportedly transferred his shares in Montillion to his father before his appointment as tourism minister in March 2012.
A further US$500,000 was deposited into the accounts of an individual and two private companies.
Adeeb and Hamid are standing trial on corruption charges along with Abdulla Ziyath, former managing director of the MMPRC.
Ziyath’s signature was on the backside of the MMPRC cheques made out to Allam’s Scores of Flair.
The audit found that the MMPRC had subleased some 59 islands, lagoons, and plots of land for development as resorts, hotels, and yacht marinas.
The MMPRC was awarded 53 properties under head lease agreements between the corporation and the ministry of tourism. A further six properties were subleased to third parties without any agreement with the ministry.
The MMPRC was owed US$96.89 million as acquisition costs for the 59 properties, but had issued receipts after collecting US$79.61 million.
Only US$12.50 million was deposited into the MMPRC’s account.
source-http://maldivesindependent.com/politics/us79m-embezzled-in-maldives-biggest-corruption-scandal-122013
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