ACC: 22 cases sent to PG Office last year, most sent in five years

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has stated that they have forwarded 22 cases to Prosecutor General’s Office (PG Office) during last year, requesting charges.

As per the annual report publicized by the commission, a total of 782 new cases relating to corruption were registered with them last year.

Meanwhile, from existing cases, they completed the investigations of 588 cases – out of which 22 cases were sent for prosecution.

ACC stressed that the most number of cases sent for prosecution by the commission in the span of last five years, was during last year.

The annual report detailed that ACC had informed the relevant authorities of MVR 2.18 million that needs to be recovered for the state in connection to cases they have investigated last year.

The report also underscored that COVID-19 restrictions had obstructed the investigation of cases that required travel to islands. However, it was noted that investigations were conducted by traveling to 48 islands in five atolls, at the end of last year.

As the most successful work carried out last year, ACC cited the inauguration and enforcement of the framework on combatting corruption at a national level. The framework, targeted towards the next five years, contains measures that can be enforced to combat corruption at a national level.

During last year, ACC also conducted various researches to identify the risk for corruption within the governance system. A research was also conducted to identify the gateways to corruption in carrying out infrastructural development projects. A white paper was formulated and publicized on the system of paying damages in connection to state projects.

Similar to all previous years, ACC reported facing many difficulties in carrying out their responsibilities. They include legal obstructions in carrying out the commission’s responsibilities; the COVID-19 pandemic; lack of human and technical resources for investigative work and budget constraints amongst other things.