Ex-pres Yameen's financial statements not submitted annually

Auditor General's Office have revealed that former president Yameen Abdul Gayyoom submitted his financial statements only on two occasions during his tenure.

Article 120 of the Maldivian Constitution mandates the president to annually submit to the Auditor General a statement of all property and monies owned by him, business interests and all assets and liabilities.

On Tuesday, the Auditor General's Office revealed the details of those mandated by the constitution to declare their assets. According to the document, the former president submitted the financial statements that were supposed to be filed in 2013 during January 2014. The statements for 2014 and 2015 were not submitted while the statement for 2016 was submitted during 2017 only after the non-submissions recently came to public attention. The financial reports for 2017 and 2018 still remain pending submission, read the document.

Near the end of his term in Office, the public uproar regarding the non-submissions had prompted the President's Spokesperson to declare that the Auditor General's Office had granted the then-president leniency with regard to the submission of financial statements. However, the Auditor General's Office had refuted the claim. The most recent financial statement was submitted on the last day of President Yameen's term.

Maldives Police Service are currently investigating a suspicious deposit of USD one billion into President Yameen's account during the 2018 presidential campaign. A case linking the ex-president to a money-laundering scheme is also being investigated by the police.