The Bank of Maldives (BML) on Saturday announced the appointment of new directors and a chairperson to its Board of Directors following an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). Ahmed Ali Habeeb, who also serves as the Principal Secretary to the President on Cabinet Affairs, was named chairperson of the board after the meeting, taking over the leadership of the country’s largest bank amid a period of significant upheaval.
The newly appointed board directors include Ahmed Ali Habeeb, Ali Irufan, and Mohamed Shahid. These appointments are part of a broader reshuffling of the bank’s board, which has been in a state of flux over the past year.
In addition to the new directors, the government-nominated members of the board now include Ali Faris Mohamed, Adil Moosa, and Dr Mariyam Suzy Adam. Meanwhile, the directors elected by public shareholders are Abdulla Naseem, Moosa Rasheed, and Najeem Ibrahim Zakariyya.
Leadership Challenges
The new appointments follow a series of leadership changes at BML. Earlier this week, government-nominated board member Aishath Sajny resigned from her post, though the reasons for her resignation remain unclear, and no official statement has been made by BML. Sajny, who was abroad at the time, had been serving as the chairperson of the bank’s Board Corporate Governance Committee.
Prior to Sajny’s resignation, BML’s Deputy CEO Aishath Noordeen was removed from the board after 42 years of service. The decision to remove Noordeen, communicated by the Privatisation and Corporatisation Board (PCB), raised legal concerns as the bank’s charter stipulates that board members can only be removed through a general shareholders’ meeting.
CEO Resignation Amid Controversy
Adding to the uncertainty, BML’s Managing Director and CEO, Karl Stumke, resigned earlier this month amid accusations that the bank’s recent decisions were linked to an attempted coup against the government. His resignation was announced on 8 September, though he remained in his position until the bank’s special annual general meeting held on Saturday, 21 September.
Stumke’s resignation came after controversy over BML’s decision to suspend foreign transaction allowances on Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR)-linked debit and credit cards, a move quickly reversed following pressure from the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).
Amid these significant changes, the appointment of Ahmed Ali Habeeb as chairperson has raised concerns among analysts, who view it as part of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s efforts to assert greater control over the bank. Habeeb’s nomination follows the removal of former chairperson Yooshau Saeed by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu in January.
