Ibrahim Shujau, a member of the People's Majlis for Baarah constituency, has stated that he cannot confirm the authenticity of the financial report circulating on social media, claimed to have been drawn up by the Maldives Monetary Authorities (MMA)'s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).
The report was circulated last night on social media and includes companies that Shujau has shares in. The companies allegedly have attained illegal financial benefits through transactions, which was the catalyst for the financial report being drawn up.'
Shujau responded that if the report were truly valid, then this is an attempt at trying to harm the companies he has a share in, and an attempt at trying to sway the truth of the work that was done in the businesses and how the results were brought about.
"The reason I am saying this is because I have not received any information from an official source concerning these issues. If this is a legitimate document, then this is being done in an attempt to harm the companies I have shares in, along with trying to raise questions concerning the way business was conducted and trying to change the narrative of previous work," Shujau stated.
As per the intelligence report which is said to have been prepared by the FIU and sent to the police, Shujau's Official Events company along with four others were investigated concerning their financial transactions. The four other companies were named to be DQ Holdings, Quick Sure, Store Pros Trading and Swan Family. The report also named Deputy Minister of Fisheries Mohamed Nafiz and Public Service Media (PSM) board member Ahmed Adhuham, who are alleged to have familial ties to Shujau.
The report shows transactions totaling MVR 42.5 million being conducted from 1st November 2023 to January 2024 between companies the three individuals have shares in, linking the transactions to various events.
Shujau has stated, in referencing the alleged statements, that the projects that have been completed were in line with the law and have seen considerable success.
"Various projects have been completed under guidelines that were brought to fruition during the administrations of former President Yameen, former President Solih and current President Dr. Muizzu. The truth of the matter is, our companies have won the bids due to the exemplary work and positive results it produced. This can be seen from our various projects," Shujau stated in his defence.
The intelligence report has included Sifainge Welfare Company Pvt Ltd (SiWEC) as well. On 13th November 2023, the Finance Ministry had released MVR 23 million to the MNDF company, of which MVR 13 million was given to Official Events, as stated by the report. The money is said to be expenses incurred during President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's swearing-in ceremony.
Two companies received a portion of the MVR 13 million as per the report. MVR 4.2 million was sent to DQ Holdings, with MVR 2.3 million being sent to Quick Sure.
The report also states that SiWEC released MVR 8 million (named as a commitment fee) to Official Events, of which two shareholders of the company used the money to purchase two apartments. Each apartment was worth MVR 20 million.
Shujau said that he hopes that even though he is a member of the Parliament, he can continue to expand his business and conduct his business practices, just as any other Maldivian has the freedom to do so.
"None of the companies I have a share in have had any investigations, issues or questions posed against them, and by God's Grace, there aren't any issues either. And that if there really were any problems to be looked into, the relevant agencies would investigate," Shujau stated.
The FIU report is a confidential report that is done by the MMA concerning financial crimes that may have been committed. Due to the fact that the MMA nor the police have released any statements concerning the publicized report on social media, the legitimacy of the report, along with whether any investigations are being conducted, are not known.
