The biggest money-laundering scandal in the Maldives' history, the MMPRC graft came into being to pay back the loans borrowed to fund former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom's campaign for the 2013 Presidential Election, his former friend and former Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, Mohamed Nazim has said.
Testifying against Yameen in the Criminal Court on Tuesday as a witness of the State regarding the sale of V. Aarah, Nazim spoke regarding Yameen's involvement in the graft for the first time. Yameen has been charged with accepting bribes and money laundering in the case. Along with the former President, former Felidhoo MP Yusuf Naeem has also been charged with bribery.
In his testimony, Nazim said former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb raised the most funds for Yameen's 2013 Presidential Campaign. Adeeb obtained the funds from businessmen using Yameen's name, explained Nazim. He said former Tourism Minister Moosa Zameer and Yameen's brother-in-law also raised money for the campaign.
Nazim testified that during the campaign period, Adeeb arrived at Yameen's residential home, G. Dhoovehi, with a black bag while Nazim was at the residence. He said Adeeb said the bag contained MVR 15 million in cash.
Nazim disclosed that after President Yameen was elected, Adeeb first took money from Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) to pay off the debts. He said Adeeb "bullied" MPL board members to obtain local currency equivalent to USD 5 million, which was then deposited into the account of the businessman who gave the loan. Adeeb took the money to pay back the amount in dollars, he added.
When Nazim learned that Adeeb had withdrawn money from MPL, he went to Yameen at the President’s Office with documents and shared the information, he said. Nazim said he was told by Yameen that he received all the money taken by Adeeb, but he did not receive the money allegedly taken from MPL. He said he shared the information with the Auditor General and the Auditor General took action on the matter and even issued a report.
"The MMPRC scam was run under Yameen's mastery. If [President Yameen] had taken action when I brought the MPL matters to his attention that day, what followed would not have happened. The MMPRC scam was born when MPL got involved," Nazim said.
Nazim said he believes the MMPRC scam was started to cover campaign expenses and pay off debts.
Answering some questions raised by Yameen's lawyers, Nazim said he did not know the company, SOF Pvt. Ltd, to which MMPRC graft funds were deposited to. He noted that he was imprisoned in 2015 during the Yameen regime and had not interacted with Yameen since then. He said he did not believe that the head of state would not have known when the Supreme Court unfairly sentenced him to jail.
"I am not dealing with Yameen because I am a believer. I will not allow myself to be stabbed twice by the same bee," Nazim said.
Nazim was sentenced to jail in connection with the purchase of flags for the former Atolls Ministry. As accused by the state, the court found him guilty of winning the project through deceit.
Yameen’s lawyers questioned Nazim's fairness when he mentioned that he was imprisoned during the Yameen regime. They questioned whether Nazim had any anger and hostility towards Yameen. However, Chief Justice Ahmed Shakeel stopped the questions as they were outside the subject of Nazim's appearance.
Nazim used to be a very close friend to Yameen. Nazim played a leading role in Yameen's campaign during the 2013 presidential election.
The next hearing will be held on August 18 at 9:30 am. The testimony of another witness is scheduled to be recorded in the hearing.
