A spokesperson from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) stated that the Criminal Court ordered the passport seizure on Tuesday at the agency’s request.
The passport of former Public Service Media (PSM) Finance Director Ahmed Haneef has been confiscated in connection with the PSM scam case.
A spokesperson from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) stated that the Criminal Court ordered the passport seizure on Tuesday at the agency’s request.
According to the audit report issued by the Auditor General's Office, MVR 190,000 from the safe and MVR 4.9 million between the years 2017 and April 2024 has gone missing from PSM. The report states that these funds had been deposited to the accounts of then Finance Director at PSM Ahmed Haneef and his child.
Haneef was suspended from duties last April, with his dismissal following in May.
The report states that between 2020 and April 2024, MVR 5.8 million was taken from PSM's bank account to purchase USD 373,988. However, it notes that 80 percent of the expected dollar amount was not received by PSM, with only USD 76,731 seen to have been received. There are no records to indicate the remaining USD 297,257 were received by the company.
The audit report revealed that MVR 4.5 million in transactions were paid by cheque, with MVR 968,580 of this amount signed by Haneef.
Auditor General's Office said that in an online transaction to purchase dollars, out of MVR 1.3 million needed to buy USD 75,491, MVR 1.2 million had been deposited to the account of a child of Haneef in a number of deposits.
They said that it was Haneef alone who signed on payment vouchers worth MVR 405,122 permitting dollar transactions via online transfers. A transaction of MVR 30,000 without anyone's signature was also found.