AG requests withdrawal, revision of 35 lawsuits in MMPRC case

The Attorney General’s Office has asked the Civil Court to allow for withdrawal of 35 lawsuits submitted to the court in connection with the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMMPRC) embezzlement case in order to revise the lawsuits and resubmit them to the court.

The AG Office issued a statement this Sunday confirming it has asked the Civil Court to allow for withdrawal of 35 lawsuits.

In the statement, the AG Office said has studied the evidence and supporting documentation in 39 lawsuits submitted to recover funds embezzled from MMPRC. And has made the decision to revise 35 of the lawsuits and resubmit them to court.

The office said the 35 lawsuits are to be revised, and further investigated with the support of the Commission on Corruption and Asset Recovery and the Maldives Police Service before they are resubmitted to the court.

It said the lawsuits will be resubmitted to the court as soon as possible in order to expedite recovery of embezzled State assets.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) launched its investigation into the MMPRC case, the biggest embezzlement scandal in recent Maldivian history, on August 27, 2015.

Investigation into the case was completed and forwarded to the Prosecutor General’s Office for legal charges on August 10, 2017.

The former Vice President and Minister of Tourism Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Gafoor and former MD of MMPRC, Abdulla Ziyath have been sentenced to prison for their part in the embezzlement scam, but the State is yet to recover the MVR 1.2 billion which went missing in the scam.