Former President's Office Minister and Democrats' Vice President Mohamed Shifaz has alleged that the ruling People's National Congress (PNC) wants to dismiss Ali Hashim as governor of the central bank, the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), to turn the institution into a money laundering machine.
Ali Hashim was appointed governor during the last Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government. The PNC has won a supermajority in the 20th Parliament and efforts are now underway to remove Ali Hashim from the position. The motion to advise the President on his dismissal is currently in the Public Accounts Committee.
On Tuesday night, on Adhadhu's Etherefuh program, Shifaz said there was no room for questioning Ali Hashim's integrity and he would not stay silent to please a leader.
"In my opinion, the unforeseen efforts to replace the MMA governor is very dangerous. Very dangerous," he said.
He added that the President must be warned against Ali Hashim's dismissal and the only reason to replace a man of integrity would be to appoint a government puppet and "turn the MMA into a money laundering machine."
Shifaz said that some former governments have also attempted to do such things but they failed due to the competence of the governors.
He claimed that some groups want to bring black money into Maldives because the government does not know how to operate and due to the financial crisis. He warned that the Maldives would be destroyed if this continued.
"We all know that these people are not managing the financial system of Maldives. They are not managing the income," Shifaz said.
Shifaz blamed excessive spending after coming to power for the mismanagement of the financial situation. He highlighted the cost of repairing the official Presidential residence Muleeaage, foreign travels by government officials and the short-sighted foreign policy.
