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Alleged corruption threatens Maldives Monetary Authority and World Bank loans Maldives Culture special report 9 July 2004 Reports of alleged graft and corruption in the allocation of Maldive islands for resort development have angered and alienated foreign financiers and bankers who were considering large investments in the country's tourism industry. Many of the world's top banks are looking to invest in Maldives but they are deeply concerned about deliberate rake-offs and graft, which deliver no commercial benefit to the country and its population. This disquiet in top-level financial circles can have dire consequences for Maldives, not only for the tourist industry but also for the future of the Maldives Monetary Authority and World Bank loans. Below is slightly edited report that appeared several days ago in an Internet forum devoted to Maldive political and economic affairs: Subject: Is Sunland Shabeer gonna get all the resorts again? Sunland Shabeer has proposed ridiculously high prices for the new resort islands because his right-hand man Ismail Firaq, who works in the tourism ministry, advised him to. This will enable Shabeer to get the highest points, like the last time when he got three islands and sold off two, in the process filling the pockets of former tourism minister Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, former Attorney General Dr. Mohamed Munavvaru, Executive Secretary to the President Abdulla Shahid and Champa Afeef. Shabeer is trying to get as many islands as he can this time as well. He has even put in multiple bids (under different names of course) for a single island. Perhaps he will benefit by selling off any extra islands he gets. Ismail Firaq and Ali Niyaz (legal advisor at the Tourism Ministry) are greatly benefiting from this. While Ali Niyaz gets his share of 'cuts', Ismail Firaq, whose wife Fathimath Mohamed Solih fills the powerful post of personal secretary to Maumoon Abdul Gayoom at the President's Office, recently returned from Singapore just in time for the Sunday deadline with all the finished documents for Shabeer's bids. While tourism minister Hassan Sobir talks of the government's 'new' policy of favouring new parties to enter the tourism ministry, we can expect the new 11 islands to be given once again to people who are powerful in the tourism ministry. After giving an island to for Champa, Gasim, Shabeer, Sun Travels Shiyam and so on, there will be few, if any, islands left for any new people. Meanwhile, Sobir himself is gonna take one of the islands for himself this time, according to a few reliable sources who work in his ministry. These sources have a conscience and they are very unhappy at this blatant abuse of power by Sobir, Ismail Firaq and Ali Niyaz, who now also protects the interests of the corrupt Minister of Transport Ilyas Ibrahim. We can also expect Maumoon's corrupt brother Yameen to profit from this endeavour, because of his close contacts with the Champa clan. top

Related articles and links Maldives: World Bank To Help The Government Of Maldives Strengthen Social Service Delivery World Bank.org 6 July 2004 Maldives Monetary Authority Official website The Open Palm ABCnews.com

Maldives Culture is an independent internet magazine of Maldive cultural issues.
Editors and translators: Michael O'Shea and Fareesha Abdulla, Australia
We invite contributions from Maldivians and others interested in Maldives.
Contributions and comments - mc_editors@hotmail.com