MVR 1.6B lost to corruption in 17 years; recovered amount undisclosed

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC)’s President Adam Shaamil states funds owed to state in corruption cases concluded over the past 17 or so years exceeds MVR 1.61 billion.

Speaking during a ceremony held last Tuesday to commemorate International Anti-Corruption Day, Shamil said ACC has instructed the recovery of over MVR 1.61 billion to the state in connection with cases concluded by the Commission starting from 2009.

Shamil noted that this accounts for MVR 94.57 million per year, or MVR 7.88 million per month.

Shamil added that statistics show the ACC has instructed relevant authorities to recover at least MVR 2.85 in addition to every rufiyaa lost to the state.

He did not disclose how much of this amount has been recovered for the state. ACC also did not respond to questions seeking details on how much money has been recovered so far.

ACC has been allocated an MVR 47 million budget for 2025 – MVR 5 million down from MVR 52 million this year.

The majority of the funds, totaling MVR 21 million, has been allocated for investigation purposes. A further MVR 20 million has been allocated for corporate services, while MVR 4 million has been set aside for corruption prevention.

Notably, ACC has come under scrutiny over the Commission’s consistent failure to properly investigate and take action in major corruption cases.

Each administration is rising to power on the promise of ensuring ACC’s independence and investigating major corruption scandals in the country: a pledge none of the administrations have delivered so far.