An audit of the state's financial statements has revealed that MVR 2 billion more than budgeted for 2023 was spent in violation of the constitution and finance rules.

In October last year, Finance Minister Moosa Zameer told a press conference that financial records for 2023 were not available.

Attorney General Ahmed Usham, who also joined the press conference, warned that this was unlawful and that action would be taken against those responsible.

According to the audit of the financial statements, a total of MVR 57.8 billion was spent in 2023, with MVR 2.1 billion more than the budget approved by the parliament.

An MVR 49.3 billion budget was approved for the year, with an additional MVR 6.5 billion approved as a supplementary budget near the end of the year.

The extra MVR 2 billion was spent to pay contractors financed by foreign loans. But this money was not recorded as spent in the budget for that year.

According to the auditors, this is in violation of Article 96 of the constitution.

The audit office noted that these expenditures were recorded in the debt details system but not in the public accounting system (SAP). It is also not included in the 2023 financial statements.

The auditors stated that the Finance Ministry was aware of the details of these expenses prior to the April 14, 2024, deadline for filing the financial statements.

The office recommended that the figures be recorded in the year of expenditure and that expenditure be recorded and maintained regularly in accordance with the rules.