A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.
The Maldives slipped one position in the World Bank’s ease of doing business report for 2018, ranking 136 out of 190 economies. The only reform enacted during the one-year review period ending on June 1, 2017 was the introduction of an online system for filing and paying taxes. The Maldives fell from 128 to 135 […]
The Maldives continues to be plagued by a centuries-old social problem of secular, atheistic and extremist ideologies, Defence Minister Adam Shareef Umar said Friday night. Speaking at an event to mark the 29th anniversary of Victory Day, Shareef said both secular or irreligious thought and religious extremism pose a threat to Maldivian independence, referring to […]
The finance ministry has loaned MVR46.3 million (US$3 million) to the State Trading Organisation to prop up its subsidiary fisheries company. The debt-ridden Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company was incorporated under the umbrella of the STO group, the largest state-owned enterprise and the country’s primary wholesaler, in October last year. According to the finance ministry, the loan is intended to […]
The imminent destruction of Kulhudhuffushi’s mangroves to make way for an airport and ensuing environmental damage have dominated headlines recently. The airport’s development was a major campaign pledge of President Abdulla Yameen. Following is a timeline of events since the presidential pledge. August 12 2013 – Presidential candidate Yameen pledges to build an airport on […]
The country’s anti-corruption watchdog filed just a handful of cases for prosecution during the third quarter of 2017, despite investigating 265 cases during that period. The monthly case reports for the year were released Wednesday by the Anti-Corruption Commission and showed the body investigated a total of 815 cases up until the third quarter, out […]
A local company implicated in a historic corruption scandal deposited US$1 million into President Abdulla Yameen’s private account at the Maldives Islamic Bank, according to the Anti-Corruption Commission. The ACC confirmed the longstanding allegations in a document quietly published on Thursday with summaries of cases closed during August. Both Yameen and his jailed former deputy were […]
The joint opposition has denounced the Elections Commission’s disqualification of three former ruling party lawmakers, calling it unconstitutional and an “egregiously partisan move designed to please President [Abdulla] Yameen.” The EC informed parliament Tuesday that MPs Mohamed Musthafa, Saudhulla Hilmy and Ali Shah have lost their seats following their expulsion from the Progressive Party of […]
An inquiry by a special committee at the president’s office is underway into a quarrel between the country’s top two police officers, it has been widely reported. Both the police and president’s office spokesmen refused to comment but sources have told several local media outlets that President Abdulla Yameen set up the committee about two weeks […]
The criminal court on Tuesday heard closing arguments in the trial of the first Maldivians charged with human trafficking. Mohamed Muahmar and Hussain Sunaih are accused of trafficking by submitting fake construction agreements and other documents to obtain hundreds of immigration permits. They were charged with participating in human trafficking, lying to a government office and […]