A succession of corruption scandals has left the Maldives government reeling as a resurgent opposition gears up for direct action.
Top officials of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration have been implicated in fraudulently awarding coveted plots of land, diverting welfare funds to operate a pro-government TV channel, and boosting the ruling party’s membership through identity theft.
In all of the cases, whistleblowers exposed damning evidence through an anonymous X account, an unfiltered and provocative outlet for “citizen journalism” that has been playing an increasingly consequential role in Maldivian politics.
Seizing on the multiple corruption scandals, the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has decided to stage a protest march on January 31, taking to the streets for the first time since demoralizing losses in the September 2023 presidential election and April 2024 parliamentary elections.
The first scandal broke in mid-December with the leak of internal documents from the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), a state-owned company tasked with the urban development of artificial islands near the capital Malé.
The leak contained forged documents that claimed ownership of a land plot in Hulhumalé for the brother of HDC managing director Ibrahim Fazul Rasheed. The prime real estate was among 1,351 plots awarded under the previous government’s housing scheme for native residents of Malé.
But Fazul’s brother Mohamed Fazeel Rasheed, who is deputy managing director of the Malé Water and Sewerage Company, was not among the nearly 19,000 eligible applicants for reclaimed land in the Greater Malé Region. According to the final list of recipients published by the outgoing administration in August 2023, Fazeel’s application had been disqualified on the grounds of having been a beneficiary of a previous social housing scheme.
At a combative press conference called after the leak, HDC boss Fazul dismissed his brother’s involvement as a “coincidence” and denied granting permission for Fazeel to build a boundary wall. But journalists soon found a newly-built wall at the lot in question.
The revelations inflamed the public as the alleged theft concerned housing, the most sensitive issue in the Maldives, a small island state where land is scarce and 40 percent of the population is crammed into the densely-packed capital.
Fazul and the HDC board of directors were promptly suspended. Both Fazul and Fazeel, along with several HDC and Housing Ministry officials, were barred from leaving the country as the police and Anti-Corruption Commission launched a joint investigation.
But the HDC remained under the media spotlight. The government company, valued at $2.5 billion, was described as a “nest of unchecked corruption” with a management that routinely sought bribes to sell social housing flats and grant concessions for businesses. New owners of beachfront properties and premium land purchased at discounted rates included Fazul’s wife and senior government officials.
Amid growing calls for Fazul’s dismissal, Muizzu denied receiving a seven-page letter from former HDC Chairman Ahmed Zuhoor in July 2024 that detailed suspicions of illicit enrichment with Fazul at the helm.
Fazul resigned on December 21. Late on the following night, police raided the former lawmaker’s residence, where they seized electronic devices and discovered 1.4 million Maldivian rufiyaa ($90,790) in cash. Fazul has since been questioned on charges of destroying official documents, the police confirmed on January 21.
The HDC scandal fueled speculation about arson as the cause of a massive fire that destroyed the Housing Ministry office on December 12. Documents and servers used to store information about staff and ongoing projects were lost. The cause of the fire remains unclear.
Meanwhile, complaints started to pile up from individuals registered as members of the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) without their consent.
In the wake of a recruitment drive launched in August, several fraudulent membership forms were posted online with altered photos and forged signatures. An opposition lawmaker was among those who found themselves signed up to the ruling party.
The PNC conceded the submission of invalid membership forms, citing its inability to verify each one among thousands, but denied any systemic fraud.
A day after the PNC’s denial, photos leaked online showed Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihusan and other officials cropping ID photos and filling out membership forms. The location was identified as a meeting room at the Department of National Registration (DNR), which functions under the Home Ministry.
The opposition accused the PNC of stealing personal information from the DNR database. The MDP claimed to have received 3,000 complaints and sought a police investigation.
On January 21, two political appointees in charge of the DNR met the press to address “false allegations” of identity theft. But the state minister and deputy minister fled in the face of tough questioning. A “pizza party” offered as an explanation failed to convince reporters.
According to updated membership figures released by the Elections Commission on January 23, the PNC has become the largest party with nearly 69,000 members. The MDP has fallen from over 50,000 to 43,700 members. Only parties with more than 10,000 members are eligible for state funding, which is allocated based on the number of members.
The HDC and DNR scandals followed revelations about the National Social Protection Agency leasing two floors of office space from a new TV channel managed by communications officials at the President’s Office. The five-year $2.2 million contract was allegedly inflated to cover the rent for four floors, including MMTV studios on two floors in the same building. The agreement was later terminated.
But as with the concerns raised by the former HDC chairman, Muizzu claimed to have been completely unaware of the incident. “If I receive any such information, it will be submitted to the relevant authorities,” he told the press.
