Public petition submitted to parliament, President, calling to dismiss ACC members

A public petition signed by 1065 individuals was submitted to President Ibrahim Mohamed Soliha and the Parliament on Thursday, calling for the dismissal of all the members of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

According to the petition, the corruption watchdog which was granted power under the constitution was negligent in investigating and taking measures against acts of corruption that took place in the country.

Additionally, the petition questioned the failure of members to conduct their responsibilities and accused ACC of participating in acts of corruption themselves.

The petition called for the President and parliament to take measures against the members of ACC accordingly.

Furthermore, the petition disclosed that the signatures were by locals living in Male’ and Addu, acquired over a period of only seven hours.

The power to dismiss members from independent institutions are given to the parliament under the Maldivian constitution.

While this petition was submitted to the parliament, many accuse ACC of being negligent in the investigation of the infamous MVR 1.3 billion embezzlement case of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC).

The Commission, however, denied these accusations, claiming that relevant authorities were uncooperative to their investigation efforts. Additionally, ACC revealed details about the challenges facing their investigation, stating that documents had to be “dug out” as banks and other institutions refused to provide them with information.

Meanwhile, President of ACC Hassan Luthfee is currently under investigation by Maldives Police Service on money laundering charges. Police accuse there were others involved in the money laundering case in addition to Luthfee.

Various independent institutions, including ACC, are under fire for failing to perform their legal duties accordingly during the past five years, creating many issues within the legal system. Fixing these issues and re-establishing the public’s trust in these institutions are an electoral pledge of President Solih’s administration.