Civil Service Commission (CSC) has dismissed three employees of a school in the Male' area over an alleged salary fraud scheme that is reported to have continued for five years.

Mihaaru News reported that, those dismissed include the school's administrator, human resources manager and a budget officer working under the administration.

The dismissals followed an investigation into allegations that the salary of a foreign employee who had left the school continued to be claimed after his departure from the Maldives.

A source familiar with the case told Mihaaru news today that after the employee left the country, another name was allegedly inserted into the payroll system in his place, with salary payments subsequently transferred to accounts linked to relatives of the budget officer.

According to the source, the funds were deposited into several different accounts over the years, including accounts belonging to family members and other individuals.

The source said that more than MVR 1.5 million was paid out under the former employee's name between 2021 and the discovery of the scheme.

The matter reportedly came to light during a random audit of schools conducted by the Ministry of Education.

Following the audit, the ministry referred the case for disciplinary action, leading to the CSC's decision to dismiss the three employees.

It remains unclear whether the case is also being investigated by the police or the Anti-Corruption Commission.