Minister of Home Affairs Ahmed Azleen declared on Tuesday that the Commission on State Asset Recovery (CSAR) was "not running after any particular political party" but rather attempting to recover the MVR 29 billion lost from the state.
During a CSAR press conference held at the President's Office, Azleen announced that the commission's one-year term from July 2017 has been extended until November of this year by President Abdulla Yameen.
According to Azleen, the commission has discovered from its investigations that MVR 29 billion was owed by different parties to the state. He added that the commission has completed a probe into cases totalling MVR 3 billion, and it is currently working on investigating and recovering the remaining MVR 25 billion.
The minister further stated that CSAR forwards cases to the Prosecutor General's Office and Attorney General's Office once it is done with the related investigations.
Some of the cases under probe are related to senior officials of former governments. In addition, some of the cases are corruption issues related to current and former parliamentarians.
When inquired if the investigations were politically motivated, Azleen denied the allegation, stating that the commission has no political agendas.
Azleen highlighted that it was the Anti Corruption Commission's work that had revealed the staggering sums of money owed to the government. CSAR will work with all the institutions to investigate the cases, he said, adding that cases would be filed at courts within the constitutional margins.
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