MDP files case against President Yameen at Maldives graft watchdog

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has filed a case at Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) over President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s alleged association with a local company involved in illegal oil trade.

In the case filed at ACC, MDP accused former colonel of Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), Mohamed Ziyad, of being involved in illegal oil trade under Green Box Private Limited and alleged that President Yameen was associated with the local company.

The allegations first surfaced after the Japanese foreign ministry reported that an aircraft of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force had spotted two tankers around midnight on February 24, some 250km outside of the eastern shore of Shanghai. A Maldivian-flagged tanker ‘Xin Yuan 18’ was lying alongside North Korean-flagged tanker ‘Chon Ma San’, which was designated as a vessel of targeted sanction against North Korea by the US government.

Japan had said that the two vessels “could have been engaging in some type of activity.”

Following the reports, speculations began to circulate on social media that the Maldivian-flagged “Xin Yuan 18” belonged to Green Box Pvt Ltd, a company run under the management of Ziyad.

In response to inquiries by local media regarding the rumours, Ziyad stated that the speculations were untrue and designed to slander his name.

Speaking at a press conference held by MDP this Monday afternoon, the party's Chairperson Hassan Latheef stated that Greenbox had used a Maldivian flag and call sign unlawfully and claimed that the company is involved in illegal oil trade in the Maldives without declaration.

Latheef further added that Greenbox had misused the stamp and the gmail of former Chairman of the Transport Authority in order to carry out the transactions.

The MDP chairperson further noted that the Maldivian flagged tanker had evidently used the call sign of an oil tanker that belongs to former Colonel Ziyad’s company Greenbox. Linking President Yameen with the local company under fire, Latheef stated that President Yameen had contacted the board members of Bank of Maldives (BML) in order to process a loan requested by Greenbox.