Charges sought against 3 in MVR 1.8m theft

The police filed a formal request with the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) on Sunday, seeking criminal charges against three people involved in stealing MVR 1.8 million from the bank account of an individual.

In a press briefing on Sunday, Head of Financial Crime Unit, Yoosuf Looth said the three suspects the police have asked for charges against includes a minor.

“We managed to recover MVR 1.6 million in money and assets in the investigation into the case,” he said.

In a February press briefing regarding the same case, police said that the funds were stolen from an account opened at the Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB).

The police also identified four suspects in the case; a 24-year-old man, a 24-year-old woman, a 23-year-old man, and a 16-year-old.

The police said back then that all suspects, except for the minor, were in custody.

But during Sunday’s briefing, the police did not mention the fourth suspect.

Back in February, the police said that investigators recovered goods worth MVR 200,000 that was purchased using the stolen money.

With the money found in the bank accounts of the suspects as well as from their residences, the police recovered total MVR 1.67 million in stolen funds.

According to the police, the money stolen from the victim was found in the accounts of all three adult suspects.

The suspects also transferred the stolen money to other bank accounts, took some of the money out in cash, and also laundered it by making various purchases.