Pres. welcomes decision to annul immunity agreements with MMPRC graft suspects

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has welcomed the nullification of immunity agreements made with all the suspects involved in the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) graft scandal.

The President, via a post on X, described the immunity agreements executed durin former Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem’s tenure as agreements executed in a manner granting privileges to certain individuals implicated in the MMPRC grant which exempts them from further prosecution.

As such, he welcomed the decision by incumbent Prosecutor General Abbas Shareef to nullify the agreement and order the relevant authorities to investigate the allegations against the suspects.

President Muizzu also emphasized the importance of equal treatment for all suspects implicated in corruption cases to eradicate corruption which has long plagued the Maldives.

“Corruption, which has plagued this country for so long can only be eradicated if all suspects implicated in such cases are treated equally in accordance with the law,” he said.

On Sunday, the Prosecutor General’s Office announced it has nullified immunity agreements with four suspects in the MMPRC graft scandal, including former vice president Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor. They are:

• Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor, H. Saamaraa
• Ahmed Ishfah Ali, M. Land of Garden
• Mohamed Allam Latheef, M. Cessna
• Mohamed Hussain, G. Oivaali

Notably, the government terminated the immunity agreement with former MMPRC managing director Abdulla Ziyath back in 2022.

The immunity was initially granted to encourage the suspects' cooperation in recovering the state's lost funds and assisting with the investigation.

However, due to the suspects' lack of cooperation in both the investigation and the recovery of the funds, the Prosecutor General's Office announced its decision to rescind the immunity.