Following the resignation of Dr Azeema Adam as the governor of Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), former President Mohamed Nasheed on Wednesday called on her to cooperate with an independent investigation into the corruption scandal of the Maldives’ main tourism promotion body.
In a series of tweets on Wednesday soon after Dr Azeema’s stepped down as governor, former President Nasheed said “MMA Governor Azeema resigns days following President Yameen's confession to accepting laundered ill gotten funds. Call upon the former Governor to volunteer a statement to an independent investigation.”
The former president was referring to the comments made by incumbent President Abdulla Yameen late Monday in which he had acknowledged the allegations made in Al-Jazeera’s expose “Stealing Paradise” that the president had received illicit funds that were embezzled by his former deputy Ahmed Adheeb via the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC). While President Yameen said that “the money that entered [his] house was not lawful”, Dr Azeema Adam has faced accusations of MMA “sleeping” during the MMPRC corruption scandal and harsh criticism for not taking action against the embezzlement.
Former President Nasheed’s Office on Wednesday stated that money laundering of US Dollars is a great felony in the United States. The Office claims to have received information that US authorities are aware of the money laundering scandal in the Maldives.
Dr Azeema Adam announced her resignation early Wednesday. In her farewell statement at a short press conference in MMA, she explained that she resigned from MMA to move to New York with husband Ali Naseer Mohamed, who has been recently appointed as the Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations. She did not make any mention of the MMPRC corruption in her farewell and has never stated that MMA had failed in regards to the scandal.
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