The Development Bank of Maldives has launched a recruitment drive for 13 positions — including 10 managerial posts with salaries reaching MVR 45,000 — despite the bank remaining non-operational months after its establishment.
According to a notice published in the Government Gazette, the state-owned bank is seeking to recruit managers for finance, compliance, audit, legal affairs, human resources, IT, and credit and risk functions. The vacancies also include two Front Office Executives and a Marketing Executive. Applications close at 5:00 pm on December 22.
The Development Bank was incorporated on 16 May 2024 under powers granted to President Dr Mohamed Muizzu by the Companies Act. While the Maldives Monetary Authority issued the bank an operating licence on 13 October 2024, the government has yet to announce when the bank will begin operations or what services it will offer.
Despite this, public funds continue to be spent on the institution. Information obtained under the Right to Information Act shows that the government had already spent MVR 6.5 million on the Maldives Development Bank as of March, even though the bank had not started operations.
The information was requested by lawyer Ahmed Mauroof under the RTI Act. In its response, the Finance Ministry confirmed that MVR 6,566,338.20 had been spent on the bank up to March 25. The Development Bank was formally inaugurated on November 16, 2024, to coincide with the one-year anniversary of President Muizzu’s administration. However, since its inauguration, the bank has not provided any services or issued a single loan.
Further RTI disclosures show that spending continued to rise in the months that followed. From the date of its establishment until the end of August, the bank incurred total expenses of nearly MVR 12 million, despite remaining inactive.
The bank’s brief existence has also been marred by leadership controversy. British national Noel Gregor Paterson-Jones, who was appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at the time of inauguration, resigned from the post in March and later lodged a complaint alleging that his salary had not been paid during his tenure.
With millions in public funds already spent, no operational output, and now a push to fill high-paying managerial positions, questions are mounting over whether the Development Bank is being built to serve national economic needs or to expand the government’s growing payroll long before delivering any tangible benefit to the public.
