#Maldives: #Canarygate Scandal: MRF 24 million scam involves ex-President Nasheed's senior administrators: Auditor-General
#Maldives: Four senior members of former President Nasheed's administration were culpable is a MRF 24 million scam, Auditor General Niyaz Ibrahim told the Parliamentary subcommittee on Finance yesterday. The individuals named included two high profile members of former President Nasheed's party Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) who had been given political posts when Nasheed came into power. They were Ahmed Assad, the younger brother of Nasheed's Housing Minister and close confidante Aslam and Abdulla Shahid (pic), one of the 11 involved in the November 3rd coup led by Nasheed's uncle Sikka Ahmed Ismail Maniku in 1988. Assad had filled the post of State Minister of Finance in Nasheed's government, while Abdulla Shahid had been State Minister of Defence. The scam involved embezzlement of state funds amounting to MRF 24 million, paid from the Ministry of Finance and Treasury for falsified invoices for services claimed to have been rendered to the National Centre fo...