The President’s Office released its financial statement yesterday, omitting details of the private party that funded President Mohamed Muizzu’s trip to the United Kingdom in April 2025.
Muizzu previously admitted that the majority of the expenses for his visit to the UK, which took place from April 1 to April 5, 2025, were covered by a private entity. However, he withheld the identity of the individual or company providing the funds at the time.
According to the financial statement released by the President’s Office yesterday, the office has not received any expenditure from a third party for its "benefit or advantage."
When Adhadhu previously contacted the President’s Office to identify the anonymous private sponsor, officials declined to comment. The President’s Office spokesperson, Mohamed Hussain Shareef, has not responded to calls or messages.
Muizzu first revealed the private sponsorship during a podcast aired on April 10, 2025.
"The government did not spend much on this trip. Almost everything was handled through private sector sponsorship. The President’s Office has now officially disclosed the details. Only about MVR 150,000 was spent by the state, which was for my ticket. All other expenses—tickets for everyone else, accommodation, and overall costs—were arranged through private sector funding and sponsorship. That was the plan from the beginning, and that is how it was executed," he declared.
The President’s Office did contribute some funds toward the trip, which Muizzu claimed was planned to launch an agreement with Liverpool Football Club to promote the Maldives. A document released by the office noted that its expenditure for the trip totaled only MVR 153,689.
Over a year since government stopped disclosing Muizzu's travel expenses as pledged!
Over a year has passed since President Muizzu’s government stopped disclosing foreign travel expenses, breaking a pledge to release costs within 15 days of each trip. Despite a lack of transparency, official data shows travel spending has exceeded the state budget, even as some trips are reportedly funded by anonymous businessmen.
It remains unclear under what policy or agreement a private company funded the President’s travel. Furthermore, the relationship between the sponsoring company and the government, as well as the total amount spent by the private entity, remains unknown.
Official state visits conducted by the President are required to be funded by the state.
Under Section 16(a) of the former Prevention and Prohibition of Corruption Act, it was a criminal offense for a state official, or their spouse, to request or accept personal favors from any party seeking a decision from the state or engaged in a partnership with the state. However, that Act was repealed after many of its provisions were incorporated into the Penal Code.
