Maldivian police on Wednesday said that they are working on identifying the possible culprits in an alleged ‘financial coup’, two days after President Mohamed Muizzu accused the opposition of plotting to topple his government using a decision by the national bank to suspend foreign transactions from Rufiyaa cards. On Sunday, the Bank of Maldives (BML) suspended foreign transactions for existing debit cards, as well as new debit and credit cards linked to MVR (the Maldivian rufiyaa) accounts. It also lowered the monthly standard and gold credit card limit to USD 100. However, it reversed the decision within hours, saying it was based on instructions from its regulator, the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).The police opened a criminal investigation on Monday, citing there’s room to believe the opposition had attempted to topple President Muizzu’s administration by stoking up fears of a financial crisis and inciting people to take to the streets.
In a statement on Wednesday, the police said they are working on “collecting all necessary information and conducting a detailed review of everything that needs looking into” in their investigation, the Sun news portal reported.
“We are also identifying the people who possibly need to be taken action against and all other works pertaining to the investigation,” said the police.
Speaking at a party meeting of the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) on Monday night, President Muizzu said that he had worked to find a resolution for the Bank issue alongside his ministers as soon as he had become aware of the situation. He asserted that the bank’s decision had been against his advice.
Muizzu said that many had raised questions as to why a government-majority holding bank had made such a decision against government advice. However, most people were unaware that BML’s Board of Directors does not have a government majority at this time, he said.
Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, was sworn in as the President in November last year.
“As of now, there’s only four government directors there. The remaining five directors are not government-aligned. So we don’t have a majority yet. We have nominated two directors, but it will take a couple of weeks for them to be appointed through the existing procedures there. Even though the Chairman has not been appointed yet, the name has been sent,” he said.
Muizzu, who also heads the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) party, alleged that this was a calculated coup attempt by a select group of people and added that the Police have now commenced investigations into the matter.
The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chairperson Fayyaz Ismail, however, said that the events show a coup brewing within President Muizzu’s administration and not one instigated by outside forces.
“What we see are fault lines within the administration. That there’s trouble brewing within. And we see a coup coming from within in the days ahead,” he said.
Fayyaz said the comments regarding the BML made by top government officials, including President Muizzu himself, were enough to destroy the entire financial system.
“This decision by a government-controlled bank, which went against the government’s counsel and that left many Maldivian citizens stunned, coincided with a press conference by a political entity regarding the state of the country’s finances,” said the police, referring to a press briefing by the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) which took place on Sunday morning.
It added that hundreds of ‘bot’ accounts on social media were used to attempt to incite people into taking to the streets to cause civil unrest and topple the government.
“There is room to believe it was an illegal attempt to overthrow the legitimate government,” said the police.
