The Pension Office board has approved an MVR 2.4 billion transaction in which the Pension Office will sell its bonds to the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) and invest the money in a new Finance Ministry bond.
Reliable sources confirmed to Adhadhu that the board approved the transaction yesterday (February 2). They did this by appointing an interim Chairman. Adhadhu could not confirm the identity of the interim Chairman.
Adhadhu also tried to get a comment from the Pension Office. But the Pension Office said media queries will only be answered through email.
The Pension Office will conduct this transaction by selling bonds previously purchased from the Finance Ministry and investing the proceeds in a new long-term government bond.
Pension Office board Chairman Ahmed Inaaz and private sector representative Ahmed Saruvash Adam resigned from the board after saying this transaction would be detrimental. Both Inaaz and Saruvash said the transaction would have negative consequences in the near and distant future at a time when the state's financial situation is fragile.
In addition, Ahmed Rasheed, who represented the Finance Ministry on the board, and Hawwa Fajwa, who was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the office, also resigned. Reports say their resignation is also connected to the money printing transaction.
The government, the Pension Office, and the MMA have not yet officially commented on the matter. But some media outlets quoted government officials as saying that this was not money printing.
However, technical experts told Adhadhu that the MMA is funding the transaction using reserves that it does not have. In this case, the money circulating in the economy increases. The experts confirmed that the transaction meets all the criteria of money printing.
