Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has accused President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s administration of selling ministerial positions, including that of the Foreign Minister, for US$1 million. Yameen made these allegations at a People’s National Front (PNF) rally on Monday, asserting that Speaker of Parliament Abdul Raheem Abdulla orchestrated the sale.
Yameen claimed that during the government transition, the ruling party’s chairman, Abdulla Raheem Abdulla, set up offices at Stelco to facilitate the sale of government posts. According to Yameen, individuals seeking deputy minister roles had to make a substantial monetary contribution and provide an iPhone, while state minister positions required even higher payments. He alleged that Moosa Zameer, the current Foreign Minister, paid US$1 million to secure his role.
In his remarks, Yameen also questioned the progress in investigating the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) scandal. He highlighted that President Muizzu had pledged last year to recover the illicit funds and bring all involved to justice. Yameen commended Ali Ihusaan, the Minister of Homeland Security and Technology, for his integrity and readiness to resign if instructed not to probe the MMPRC scandal, which he described as the largest corruption case in recent Maldivian history.
Yameen criticised the Home Minister for not publicising the names of those implicated in the MMPRC scandal and speculated whether the list might contain names of high-profile individuals, including Muizzu and Speaker Abdulla, which could pose a threat to national security.
He expressed concern that ongoing investigations might be influenced to scapegoat him, while others accused of fraud remain overlooked. Yameen pointed out that only he, former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor, and former MMPRC Managing Director Abdulla Ziyath have been sentenced in connection with the scandal. Both Abdul Ghafoor and Ziyath were later pardoned by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, and Yameen’s earlier conviction was quashed by the High Court due to procedural irregularities, leading to a retrial.
