The government has reversed its decision to remove the non-executive members on the Bank of Maldives (BML) board and re-appointed two members who were dismissed on Thursday.
Five non-executive members representing the government on the BML board were removed on Thursday, including Chairman Yoosuf Saeed.
The functions of the BML board came to a halt with the removal of the members. The bank's statutes say that the board may continue to function even if a post is vacant.
But if the number of directors is less than eight or the number of elected directors is less than two, the board cannot take any action except in case of emergency or for the purpose of calling a general meeting.
The five members who were removed were appointed to the board by the former government. Following that, the board had five sitting members including Managing Director Karl Stumke and Aishath Nooruddin and three members appointed by the shareholders.
A reliable source told Adhadhu that Abdulla Hassan and Aishath Sajuni will be re-appointed to the board, putting the number of members to seven.
The government has also re-offered the post to former Chairman Yooshau Saeed to get the eight board members required by the bank's statues But the source confirmed to Adhadhu that he has not yet accepted the offer.
Neither the government nor the Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB) has commented on the matter.
The sudden decisions related to BML come amid questions over the possibility of raising the dollar withdrawal limit to USD 1,200 from February in accordance with the government’s pledge to raise the monthly limit for overseas students.
Meanwhile, businesses have said the bank is facing a dollar shortage and is unable to sell dollars for telegraphic transfers (TT) of businesses that buy goods from overseas.
