Call for Maldives’ impeachment. President Muizzu speaks out further after the release of hacked corruption reports

Male: In the wake of a leaked report detailing President Mohamed Muizzu’s alleged corruption from 2018, which he has denied, the opposition parties in the Maldives have called for an investigation and the president’s impeachment before the legislative elections.

The exchange of accusations between Muizzu’s People’s National Congress (PNC) and the major opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has soured the environment ahead of Sunday’s Majlis elections.

According to local media reports, the political upheaval began on Monday when an anonymous user going by the handle “Hassan Kurusee” posted on social media X leaked intelligence reports, including documents created by the Maldives Police Service and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Maldives Monetary Authority that purportedly connected President Muizzu to corruption.

“These papers, which date back to around 2018, emphasize 10 important red flag signs of financial malfeasance and allege anomalies in money transfers to President Muizzu’s personal bank account. According to the news site Maldives Republic (mvrepublic.com), these factors point to participation with politically exposed individuals, embezzlement, complex transactions, and the use of business firms to conceal the source of funds.

The claims quickly sparked a political maelstrom, eliciting a wide range of responses on social media. Newspapers and news websites, however, proceed cautiously. The People’s National Front (PNF) and the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) called for an inquiry into the situation.

Muizzu’s impeachment was advocated by former vice president Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed in response to intelligence assessments that were released. Reposting these papers on social media under the pseudonym X, Jameel emphasized the need of accountability across all governmental levels.

Senior Progressive Party of the Maldives member Jameel “also accused President Muizzu of extensive corruption in his flagship Ras Male’ development project and alleged excessive spending on public relations,” in addition to calling for Muizzu’s impeachment. According to mvrepublic.com, Jameel has urged President Muizzu to assist with impartial inquiries into these claims.

The news outlet also said that this was the first time a FIU report had been leaked and that no official government comment or confirmation had been provided about the veracity of the claims or findings.

President Muizzu reportedly responded to accusations of corruption late on Tuesday night, saying that the opposition “cannot show any wrongdoing on his part regardless of how far attempts to implicate him are taken.” Adhadhu.com also reported that President Muizzu accused the opposition of leaking the reports out of desperation.

“The same accusations had been made during his mayoral and presidential campaigns,” he said, adding that the same reaction would also apply.

“You can’t do this now, and you couldn’t do this before, even if you’re trying to pin anything like this on me. No matter how far you push this, there is nothing you can demonstrate against me, the president said, as quoted by Adhadhu.com.

President Muizzu defended himself, saying that he would “never compromise the rights of the people and that no matter how many such allegations are made, nobody will be able to show anything done in such a manner,” according to a thorough report provided by the Atoll Times. “Any wrongdoing would have been exposed during the last five years that the opposition was in power,” Muizzu said.

“The People’s National Front (PNF) and the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) demanded that the competent authorities look into the grave accusations made against the President prior to the President’s statements. However, Adhadhu.com noted that no official investigating body has yet to comment on the matter.

According to media sources, 368 candidates are running for the 93 seats up for grabs in this year’s parliamentary elections, which take place on April 21. Whether the opposition parties can take action against President Muizzu, who took office in November of last year, will depend on the results of the elections.