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Maldives pres fends off oil scam allegations as opposition intensifies overthrow efforts

Mohamed Visham
28 August 2016, MVT 14:47
President Yameen greets top state officials as he arrives for the independence day ceremony held on July 25, 2016. MIHAARU FILE PHOTO/MOHAMED SHARUHAAN
Mohamed Visham
28 August 2016, MVT 14:47

Maldives embattled president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom was forced to fend off allegations of his involvement in a major oil scam amid pressure from the opposition for him to step down.

In an interview to New York Times, jailed former president Mohamed Nasheed alleged that a state-owned company once led by Yameen sold nearly $300 million worth of oil to Myanmar’s military dictatorship in the early 2000s.

Yameen was described as “the kingpin” of a scheme to buy subsidised oil through the State Trading Organisation’s (STO) branch in Singapore and sell it on through an entity called ‘Mocom Trading’ to the Burmese military junta, at a black market premium.

Yameen who was the then STO chairman was investigated but no substantial evidence was found to link him to the scandal.

At the time, the Myanmar regime faced strict sanctions from the United States and the European Union.

Nasheed was quoted by NYT having said the oil shipments had helped the regime circumvent the sanctions and hold on to power.

Nasheed said he believed that his attempt as president to recover as much as $137 million of the missing money had been a significant factor in his ouster and subsequent imprisonment. He also contended that Yameen was now using the presidency to enrich himself, and that Yameen and his associates had received kickbacks from the sale of government-owned islands.

“President Yameen is very, very corrupt, and all the evidence is available,” Mr. Nasheed said in a recent telephone interview from London, where he lives in exile.

“We are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Ibrahim Hussain Shihab, international spokesman of the president's office, told NYT by email that the state’s trading organization had never sold oil to Myanmar during Yameen’s tenure.

The spokesman also denied that president Yameen had received illegal payments, whether from oil or land transactions or any other type of deals.

Al Jazeera meanwhile is set to release a documentary which it claims would uncover new evidence of mass corruption in the Maldives.

Created by the Emmy and BAFTA winning Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit, the documentary would be aired on September 9.

The invitation for the release of the documentary, titled ‘Stealing Paradise’ has been opened publicly.

The invitation card claims that “Al Jazeera has uncovered new evidence of corruption, theft and abuse of power. The award winning investigative team reveals how a president hijacked a nation and millions of dollars were stolen”.

The hugely anticipated documentary is believed to have been made on the largest embezzlement of state funds in the history of the tiny island nation which has been heavily linked to president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom.

An official audit report had revealed that over USD79 million had been embezzled through the state tourism promotion company.

President Yameen had been questioned by the corruption watchdog over a transaction that a company involved in the scandal had made to his personal account in the Islamic Bank.

The Indian Ocean archipelago adopted multi-party democracy in 2008 after three decades of rule by Yameen’s half brother, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

But it has been gripped by turmoil since its first democratically-elected leader Nasheed was toppled in 2012 in what he claims was a coup.

Nasheed, whose jailing last year on terror charges has been widely criticised by the West, has since secured political asylum in Britain after travelling there for medical treatment while on prison leave.

Opposition parties, some of which had opposed Nasheed earlier, have united in their campaign against Yameen.

The newly formed MUO had vowed to oust Yameen and form an interim government to ensure free and fair elections scheduled in 2018.

The MUO has brought together the MDP, the Adhaalath Party, two of Yameen’s former deputies and his former defence minister.

BBC had reported on Thursday opposition plans to move against the president “within weeks.”

The report comes in the wake of an imminent opposition led sit-down in neighbouring Sri Lanka.

Jailed former president Mohamed Nasheed currently living in exile in Britain has reportedly flown in for the meeting.

According to reliable sources, Nasheed has flown to Sri Lanka to take part in ‘an important sit-down over the present crisis in the Maldives.’

Former vice president Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed who heads the Maldives United Opposition (MUO) has also join the talks in Sri Lanka.

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