Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom on Tuesday declared that all of the assets in his bank accounts, which were recently frozen, are legitimate.
The former president made the statement during a Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) function, in response to a reporter's question regarding the recent court order to freeze Yameen's accounts at Bank of Maldives Ltd (BML) and Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) upon the request of the police.
"The money [in the accounts] is legitimate. They are not state funds nor are they anyone else's," he said, proclaiming that he is aware of every penny that entered his accounts and that he would take responsibility for each and every letter in his official financial statement.
Pointing out that the assets in one's bank accounts are not grounds for corruption allegations, Yameen criticised the police for sharing details of his financial statement, noting that such information is personal.
"... I'm deeply saddened that [the police] misused my financial statement," he said, calling on Maldives Police Service to directly address him about the graft accusations surrounding his assets.
This was the first time the former president addressed the issue of the police revealing that the assets of Yameen's accounts amounted to over MVR 100 million. They disclosed the information after summoning Yameen for questioning last Saturday, after his accounts were frozen.
However, at the time the police had only interrogated Yameen regarding MVR 22.5 million deposited into his MIB bank account ahead of the 2018 presidential elections and a cheque of USD 1 million deposited into his account by Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC).
Yameen had replied at the time that the MIB account was set up specifically for electoral expenses and that the very same account was used during the 2013 election.
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