The Bank of Maldives (BML) will not call for card information, but there is no guarantee that the national bank will not attempt a coup - this was the announcement made by the Head of State on Monday night.
BML was the first bank with the name 'Maldives'. The Government of Bangladesh and its International Finance and Investment Company assisted in the establishment of the Maldives Bank. The national bank was established and opened on Republic Day 1982 with the hard work of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and former Director of Finance of the Government, the late Ismail Fathuhee.
"Even before this bank was opened, three international banks were functioning in Male'. They were State Bank of India opened in 1974, Habib Bank opened in 1976 and Bank of Ceylon opened in 1981. However, the people of the country realized the need and importance of a bank after the opening of this bank," former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said at the 40th anniversary of BML.
The bank has been proudly serving the people since its inception. Although there were problems similar to all other institutions and the negative influence and power of being the most powerful and reliable financial institution in the country, BML has never faced such an accusation before. That is the accusation of a coup.
The government accuses the Bank of Maldives of plotting a coup in collaboration with the largest opposition political party, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). It was described as a planned act to overthrow the government. The Maldives Police Service is also investigating the case.
What does the law say?
The word 'coup' appears in three of the laws in force in Maldives. They are the Armed Forces Act, the Police Act and the Penal Code of Maldives. The Armed Forces Act and the Police Act define a coup as such acts committed by employees of the two institutions, including disobedience to the orders of the heads of the institutions.
Article 610 of the Penal Code deals with coups to overthrow the legitimate government. The Article reads "A person commits an offence if he incites, aides, or engages in rioting or a violent attempt to overthrow the government." The law mentions two more crimes related to coups. That is participation in coups and inciting coups.
Inciting Insurrection is an offence of Class 2 if the person incites or gives commands, instructions, or directions to five or more people in furtherance of a violent attempt to overthrow the government. The basic punishment for the offence is six years in prison. If there are aggravating circumstances, the penalty can be imprisonment for up to 15 years.
Participating in an Insurrection is a Class 4 felony if the person engages in a violent attempt to overthrow the government. The basic punishment for the offence is imprisonment for 1 year, 7 months, 6 days and a maximum of 4 years if there are circumstances that aggravate the penalty.
The offence of insurrection shall be confirmed only if the motive and act of the offence are proved. The action should be to instruct and encourage 5 or more people. The aim of the action should be to overthrow the government. Unless these two things are proven, a coup will not have occurred.
Next is linking this Article of the Penal Code with Article 80 which reads that "'Preponderance of the evidence' means a standard of proof lower than 'clear and convincing evidence' that requires sufficient evidence to show that the proposition is true more likely than not."
The reasons for the police accusations
The police statement cited three reasons for the accusation of attempting to overthrow the legitimate government. The reasons are;
- Politicians held a press conference on the government's financial situation coinciding with the announcement of a shocking decision, by the bank of which the government is the majority shareholder, against the government's advice.
- At the same time, hundreds of 'bot accounts' on social media were used to call people to take to the streets to overthrow the government and to disrupt public order.
- This can be considered as an attempt to overthrow a legitimate government.
The first reason does not mention a criminal offence that would lead to a coup. The claim that a press conference was held to explain the 'government's financial situation' is also false. The MDP held a meeting on the economic situation of the state. Those are two separate things.
In the first reason mentioned by the police, the real criminal accusation was, in fact, made against the government. That is the accusation of influencing a public company. The decision-making body of the BML is the Board of Directors. As a shareholder, the government will have its say through the members representing the government on the board. The bank’s decision was made by the bank’s board.
Article 15(a) of the Banking Act states that the board of directors of a bank shall have overall responsibility for establishing the policies and procedures under which the affairs of the bank shall be governed and for overseeing the activities of management. Article 15 (f) states that the members of the board of directors shall act honestly and in good faith, and be loyal to the best interests of the bank. Therefore, it is clear from these articles that the President does not have the authority to advise the bank on how to make decisions. It is a criminal act of exerting influence to attempt to change a decision in one's own interests by using a power not given by law.
The second reason raised by the police mentions a criminal offence. It is planning to disrupt public order. It should be investigated as a separate criminal offence by summoning the bot accounts to the police station.
The main factor for the police allegations is mentioned in the third reason. The 'operative' word in that sentence is "can be considered." When the police conduct a criminal investigation, 'it appears' and 'can be considered' are not 'primary evidence sufficient' to initiate a criminal investigation. While the initiation of a criminal investigation against a person means the inclusion of the person in the criminal justice system, such proceedings shall be initiated on a reasonable basis. 'It appears' and 'can be considered' are not reasonable basis.
Paul H. Robinson provided technical assistance in drafting the Penal Code. Not only did he provide technical assistance, he drafted, wrote and published commentaries on the individual Articles. The draft was parked in the Parliament for about 10 years, and as usual, was suddenly passed within a short duration.
Robinson's draft and commentary use the terms "violent overthrow of the government" and the "violent use of force" to overthrow or attempt to overthrow the government. The next part is about rioting. He also defined the offence as "attempting to achieve a revolutionary result by the use of violence or weapons of any kind". The BML decision to suspend dollar transactions may be 'financial violence'. However, the act does not include the crime of 'financial coup'.
Robinson's draft and the Penal Code being implemented now exempted peaceful assembly from that Article. It is not a crime to act on it with the intention of overthrowing or changing the government. It becomes a crime when the element of violence and force is involved to achieve that goal.
The country’s financial situation is getting worse and worse. It is the responsibility of every Maldivian citizen to urge the government to reduce expenditures, decrease political positions and improve the conditions of the people. Political parties should take the initiative and seek a solution through dialogue, peaceful rallies and demonstrations.
This article was first produced in Dhivehi by Mahfooz Saeed.
