Police have taken an official statement from the Bank of Maldives (BML) in connection with the alleged collusion between the bank and the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to overthrow the government.
The government claims BML and MDP attempted to overthrow President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's government on August 25. Police say people were urged to take to the streets against the government following BML's decision to suspend the dollar limit.
Adhadhu has learnt that the national bank had submitted an official statement after being asked to give a statement to the "financial coup" investigation. However, no criminal charges have been raised against any employee of the bank.
BML declined to comment on whether a statement had been submitted to the police.
The police 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.
However, the decision made by BML's board of directors was in accordance with Article 15 of the Banking Act due to a shortage in foreign currency.
But the government continued to exert influence until the decision to suspend the dollar limits was reversed. The bank's CEO Karl Stumke was summoned to the President's Office and the President had a meeting with him.
More than a week after the alleged coup, police have not revealed whether any suspects were questioned or any buildings have been searched in the investigation. Police also confirmed that no passports had been seized.
Meanwhile, President Muizzu had alleged that the attempted coup was planned ahead.
"What was done, anyone with common sense would know that all these dots are connected, what was done is, just as Shiyam [Minister Shiyam] also pointed out, it was an attempted coup, by whoever was behind it," he said.
