Nasheed denies being 'Kurusee' after Sri Lankan allegations

Former President Mohamed Nasheed has refuted allegations from a Sri Lankan newspaper claiming he is the anonymous individual operating the "Hassan Kurusee" account on X.

This account has been sharing various stories about politicians and the government.

'Lanka E-News' reported that a criminal investigation is underway into a post by the Kurusee account following the arrest of former Sri Lankan President and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on the 22nd of last month.

The Kurusee post alleged that Wickremesinghe's arrest was orchestrated by President Anura Kumar Dissanayake and further accused Dissanayake of corruption.

The Sri Lankan newspaper stated that the investigation aims to trace the IP address, Wi-Fi networks, and electronic devices associated with the Kurusee account.

According to the newspaper, the Kurusee account is run by a former president, parliament speaker, and MDP president who survived a bomb attack – a description aligning perfectly with Nasheed. They went as far as to accuse Nasheed by name, writing that the individual is 'better known by the nickname A**i'. 

Let me state for the record, once again, that I do not operate @HKurusee X account. Needless to say, I had nothing to do with the recent tweet against HE President Dissanayake. I’ve always been a friend of ???????? regardless of who's in power & SL has always assisted Maldives. Sad to…

— Mohamed Nasheed (@MohamedNasheed) September 9, 2025

However, Nasheed, via his official account explicitly denied any involvement. "Let me state for the record, once again, that I do not operate the Hassan Kurusee X account," Nasheed wrote.

Nasheed also expressed sadness at what he perceived as attempts to "drive a wedge between us," likely referring to himself and Sri Lanka, noting that Sri Lanka has "always assisted Maldives."

Ironically, Nasheed himself had previously filed a police complaint to uncover the truth behind the Hassan Kurusee account after it began widely disseminating information and leaked files from government officials.

When the account gained popularity during the last Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government, many accused Nasheed, who was then MDP President, of running it.

Earlier on the same day, Nasheed had tweeted that he was not Kurusee. Later, on January 10, 2024, Nasheed reiterated he had no connection to the account. In August 2023, police also obtained a Criminal Court order to identify the person behind Kurusee.

Over time, various politicians and individuals apart from Nasheed have been accused of operating the Kurusee account, though its true operator remains unconfirmed.

Adding another dimension to the controversy, Levan Dzhagaryan, Russia's ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives, voiced dissatisfaction regarding a Kurusee post that accused Russia, claiming the account was attempting to weaken bilateral relations between the Maldives and Russia.

On April 16, the ambassador also posted that the Kurusee account was run by a former political leader who was "on the run" in a European country. He expressed confidence that the account would not affect relations between Maldives and Russia.