The Prosecutor General's (PG) office has withdrawn all charges against former MP Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik, who was appointed Bureau Chief of the Parliament Secretariat last week.
Nihan told Adhadhu that he had written a letter to the PG office explaining his situation and the PG office had informed him in writing that the charges had been dropped after reviewing the case.
PG office Spokesperson and Public Prosecutor Ahmed Shafeeu told Adhadhu that a request was made in December to review the case and the PG office decided about a month ago to withdraw the charges.
When the case was reviewed in February, the PG office found that the charges were based solely on the testimony of former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb.
"It was based on Adeeb's testimony of the Vodamulaa case concluded in 2021 connected to former President Abdulla Yameen. There should be independent testimony to support everything he stated. But Nihan's case was based solely on Adeeb's testimony. So the charges were withdrawn as we believe that it cannot proceed," he said.
Nihan was charged with three counts of taking bribes, two counts of soliciting bribes and one count of money laundering in the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) corruption scandal.
He was accused of asking for bribes and accepting bribes from Adeeb while he was the sitting MP for Villimale and Chair of the Parliament's Finance Committee.
Nihan was charged with soliciting and taking bribes in connection with the MVR 600,000 he allegedly took from Adeeb as a member of Parliament.
The PG office also said that Nihan told Adeeb that he needed a Rolex watch coinciding with the vote to appoint the Prosecutor General and elect a member of parliament to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
Nihan becomes Bureau Chief of the Parliament Secretariat
The former MP was appointed Bureau Chief of the Parliament Secretariat on June 5. The appointment is made by the Parliament Speaker.
Parliament Director of Communications Hassan Ziyau said in a message to the media that Nihan has been appointed to the post by Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla.
“Nihan has been appointed to assist the Speaker of Parliament under the Parliamentary Service Rules. He began reporting to work yesterday (June 5)," the message read.
Nihan served two terms in the Parliament. He represented the Villimale' constituency in the 17th and 18th Parliament from the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM). He also served as the majority leader of the 18th Parliament.
The post of Bureau Chief of the Parliament Secretariat was previously held by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's sister Fathimath Mohamed Solih. She was appointed by former Speaker Mohamed Aslam on December 4, 2023.
