Parliament to consider withdrawing case against Dept. CEO of BML

Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed has stated that the parliament will review their decision to seek a police case against Deputy CEO of Bank of Maldives Mohamed Shareef , as he has informed the parliament that he is ready to speak the truth and cooperate with the Public Finance committee of the parliament in a new development.

At a press conference held on Sunday, Secretary General Fathimath Niusha revealed that the chair of the parliament's Public Finance Committee informed the Speaker that Deputy CEO of BML Shareef on the 16th of July had given false information at the Public Finance Committee.

"We will be sending a letter to relevant authorities to investigate and press charges accordingly in this case where BML Deputy CEO Shareef is being accused. The letter will be sent sometime today", the Secretary General had stated.

However, before beginning Monday's parliament sitting, Speaker Nasheed revealed that Shareef had sent a letter to the parliament after his case was forwarded to the police.

"In the letter, the BML official said he spoke at the committee based on the information he had at the time of attendance. However, both the official and the bank received some of the cheques that were being circulated on social media. The letter said that the bank will therefore review the matter and inform the Public Finance Committee accordingly", revealed Nasheed.

Nasheed will be discussing the issue with the chair of the public finance committee and will consider withdrawing the police case against Shareef, said Nasheed.

Shareef had stated at the Public Finance Committee that the bank had not been negligent in endorsing and depositing cheques made out into Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) into the accounts of private companies.

During the committee meeting, questions were directed at BML over the fact that the cheques in question were endorsed against the board resolution issued to BML by MMPRC and deposited into private accounts.

At the two-hour meeting, Shareef iterated that BML had followed the rules and regulations and the due process in depositing the cheques.

However, the bank is being accused of depositing 'not negotiable' cheques issued to MMPRC as payments for acquisition costs in to the accounts of private companies. 'Not negotiable' cheques cannot be deposits into accounts other than that of the payee mentioned on the cheque. It has been reported that 'not negotiable' cheques made out to MMPRC were deposited into accounts of SOF Pvt. Ltd by the bank.