PNC members in disagreement over police power to freeze scam accounts

Disagreement has arisen among members of the ruling PNC party regarding the opposition MDP's proposed amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act. This amendment would give police the power to temporarily freeze bank accounts without a court order in cases of fraud or scams.

The amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act was proposed by MDP-affiliated MP Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudu) of Galolhu North constituency.

According to the current Article 73 of the Criminal Procedure Act, bank accounts can only be frozen for a specific period under a court order if a major criminal offense is detected during monitoring under a bank account monitoring order.

MP Mohamed Ibrahim proposed to amend this article to give the police power to temporarily freeze accounts.

The amendment states that in addition to major criminal offenses, if there is evidence of fraud or scams, or reasons to support such claims, a court order can be requested to freeze related accounts for a specific period. The amendment also states that police can issue an order to freeze the money in the account or money transferred to other accounts during the time it takes for the court to make a decision.

According to the amendment, this order should be issued by a sub-inspector of police or higher. The amendment also states that the account freezing order must be promptly communicated to the bank and the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

Thinadhoo MP Saudullah Hilmy, who supported the amendment, said such a law was important to avoid such incidents and that such a statement was being made by the police as it was difficult to investigate the transfer of money from one account to another.

"Being able to hold that money and try to recover it before it's used is very important for every citizen," said Saudullah, who is affiliated with PNC.

He stated that granting such power to the police would safeguard many people's finances and contribute to greater societal peace.

MP Anara Naeem of Huraa constituency said she hopes this matter will be considered during the committee stage, as the Judiciary Committee of the Parliament is working on amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act.

She also mentioned that a solution is necessary due to the significant rise in scam cases. Anara suggested that if the police use these new powers with integrity, many of these cases could be addressed effectively.

MP Ibrahim Didi (IB) of Feydhoo South constituency said he had previously requested that police be given the power to freeze account funds until scam investigations are completed, and he supports such an amendment to the law to stop scam cases.

Some other PNC members have also said that if police are given the power to temporarily freeze funds, scam cases would decrease, and loss of money in such cases would be prevented.

However, MP Abdullah Rifau of Maafannu South constituency said that while this is a legally needed solution, some articles of the bill are structured in a way that gives police the opportunity to target certain groups unfairly.

Rifau stated that a mechanism is needed to restrict only the specific amount in question, as freezing an entire account could disrupt business operations. He warned that if this amendment remains unchanged, it could lead to potential unfair advantages.

He said that while he generally supports this amendment, the bill needs further amendments and improvements.

MP Ahmed Azaan of Hithadhoo Central constituency, who opposed the amendment, said that although the bill was proposed with good intentions, he doesn't believe it will provide a solution to scam cases.

He said that in many scam cases, money is transferred through multiple accounts within seconds of being sent to the initial account, and the proposed amendment wouldn't solve this issue.

Therefore, the money would already be gone by the time the police request to freeze an account.

He stated that this law wouldn't provide any solution to stop scams and that the solution would come from reforming the banking system.

MP Husni Mubarak of Manadoo constituency said that the amendment would not achieve its intended purpose. He stated that amending Article 73 of the Criminal Procedure Act without amending Article 72 would not accomplish this.

He also said that significant amendments to the banking system are needed to solve this issue.