Adhadhu has learnt that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) requested an increase in its budget at a meeting held with the parliament's Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday.
A person who has information about the meeting said the anti-corruption watchdog shared complaints about the low budget and requested more funds to strengthen their work. The MPs who attended the meeting did not deny this.
The ACC has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Details of budget allocated to ACC
- 2024 - MVR 48.4 million
- 2023 - MVR 50.7 million
- 2022 - MVR 36.5 million
- 2021 - MVR 37 million
- 2020 - MVR 32.3 million
MPs questioned why the commission needs more funds and criticized the commission for not showing results within the current budget.
According to the ACC's 2024 annual report, there are 1,298 cases in the preliminary stage and 1,024 cases in the investigative stage. Only eight of these cases were sent to the Prosecutor General's (PG) office. By the end of 2024, there were 31 cases in duty prosecution. Last year alone, 1,171 cases were filed with the ACC.
The committee held a closed-door meeting as proposd by Kelaa MP Abdulla Shareef and supported by Henveiru North MP Ahmed Aifan. Both of them belong to the ruling People's National Congress (PNC).
The proposal was passed unanimously by the members present in the committee. However, it is unclear why they wanted a closed-door meeting.
