The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a case with the Prosecutor General's Office (PG) against Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) Major Ibrahim Naveen Zubair, who allegedly received money into his account from SOF, the company implicated in the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) scandal.
The ACC has asked the prosecutor to file six charges against Naveen. They are:
- Bribery
- Solicitation of bribes
- Agreeing to receive a bribe
- Using the influence of his position as a MNDF captain to obtain an improper benefit from a particular person or entity
- Possession and use of proceeds of bribery
- Money laundering
"With these charges, MMPRC has been ordered to recover the USD 100,000 owed to the state in this case," ACC said in its message.
Naveen was suspended by the MNDF in 2019 after the ACC's investigation revealed that USD 100,000 was deposited into Naveen's account from the SOF's company account. However, later in the same year, his suspension was lifted, and he was allowed to return to work. He currently remains in the same position as prior to his suspension.
In a joint investigation into the MMPRC scandal, the ACC and the Maldives Police Service have decided to investigate 338 suspects. So far, only 38 cases have been concluded.
The investigation report into the MVR 1.3 billion MMPRC fraud contains details of how SOF laundered money, how the funds that were meant to enter MMPRC were deposited in SOF accounts, how dollar transactions were carried out, and the identities of 155 people who deposited the money.
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