- Was this the reason behind his numbered unofficial visits to Singapore in the past?
- Why did he keep this vital information hidden?
- What does he mean when he says, “recovering the money will be top priority if he becomes President?”
Relating to the nation’s biggest corruption case, MMPRC, Yameen has shared some very vital piece of information. Yameen who is also a prime suspect, has revealed that the money is safely tucked away in a vault in Singapore.
He says that the only way to get an access to this money is by getting a retina scan of former V.P Ahmed Adeeb. As absurd as his claims maybe, Yameen is very certain that the information disclosed by Adeeb is true and also pledges that he will try to recover the stolen state funds as soon as he is made the President.
Reverse Robinhood Strategy:
Robinhood stole from the rich and gave it to the poor, that’s why he was considered a hero to many. Our beloved ex President does the opposite, he steals from the poor and tries to make it look like he is making an attempt to get the money back.
As many of us know that the cap age for Presidency in Maldives is 65, and Yameen turned 63 this year. This means that the 2023 elections is his last bet to become head of the state again. Desperation has led him to pledging people that he will make it his top priority to bring the money back home. But what he lacks in understanding is that, Maldives wouldn’t have in this state had he not been corrupt from the beginning.
Yameen Coughs up his side of the story:
President Yameen in his defense says that he was completely unaware of what his VP was doing under his nose. He must have also been unaware of the times when he and Adeeb would frequently visit Singapore to court business tycoons. Perhaps it was during that time, they had started stacking the embezzled funds stolen from state coffers into the account, Yameen talks about now.
He also admits that his government received a lot of money during his term but says he always thought them to be campaign donations. When asked about the USD 1 million deposited to his account at Maldives Islamic Bank by SOF, a local company that was used to funnel resort acquisition fees paid to the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation, Yameen nonchalantly says that he has rented estates for years, so having USD 1 million in his account should be no surprise.
LIAR LIAR:
But if we date back to the trial case, Adeeb made a very valid reasoning. Adeeb said campaign donations never exceeded MVR200,000 (US$12,970) and were only collected ahead of elections. There were no elections in late 2015 when Yameen claims this cash to be campaign funds.
Yameen continues to insist his innocence. Even though he has left so many red flags and evidences, he is, in present day campaigning in hopes to becoming the President in 2023.
