Police probing suspicious financial transactions linked to Shujau's companies

Maldives Police Service, on Sunday, said they are investigating suspicious financial transactions linked to ruling People’s National Congress (PNC)’s Parliamentary Group’s Senior Deputy Leader Ibrahim Shujau (Shuja)'s companies flagged in central bank, Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA)’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)’s financial intelligence report which was recently leaked on social media.

The FIU report, which flagged unusually large financial transactions made to companies linked to Ibrahim Shujau through the Sifainge Welfare Cooperative (SIWEC), was leaked on social media platform X by the anonymous account 'Hassan Kurusee’.

When question Sun regarding the matter, Police said they have been investigating the transactions since April. They provided no further details. 

When question Sun regarding the matter, Police said they have been investigating the transactions since April. They provided no further details.

Amid heavy criticism against Shujau over the report, Abdulla Ashraf, the head of FIU, was removed from his post on Sunday, a day after the leak. Sun has learned that he was transferred to another post within the central bank.

According to the leaked FIU report, the suspicious transactions took place between November 1, 2023, and January 10, 2024. One of the transactions is linked to President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s inauguration ceremony, which was held on November 17, 2023. While the People's Majlis was responsible for organizing the event, the work was contracted to the Sifainge Welfare Cooperative (SIWEC) for a total of MVR 22.9 million.

Out of that amount, MVR 19.7 million was transferred to three companies. They are:

• MVR 13 million to Official Invest, a company where Shujau holds shares
• MVR 4 million to DG holdings
• MVR 2.3 million to Quick Sure, a company owned by Shujau’s cousin

According to the report, MVR 8 million of the funds received by Official Invest was used to buy two luxury apartments from Rainbow for two shareholders of the company, Shujau and a board member of state media, Public Service Media (PSM) Ahmed Adhuham. The report placed the value of the apartments at MVR 20 million. 

Apart from this, Quick Sure reportedly received MVR 10 million from the Malé City Council between November 2, 2022, and November 7, 2024. During that timeframe, Shujau was serving as the council member representing Hulhumalé, while the position of Mayor was held by President Muizzu.

The report states that the government and state-owned companies transferred a large sum of money, totaling up to MVR 16 million, to Official Events during the current administration itself.

It is presumed that the funds were transferred as payment for work related to various events held by the government. Official Events is among the major companies involved in event management. 

Commenting on the leaked report, Ibrahim Shujau, who is the parliamentary representative for the Baarah constituency, questioned its authenticity, noting that none of the relevant government offices have officially verified the document.

“If it is an authentic document, it appears to be formulated to harm a company where I hold shares while presenting a misleading, distorted narrative, misrepresenting how the company achieved its success and carried out its work,” he emphasized.

Shujau stated that his company has successfully carried out government projects under every administration since its inception, attributing this to the company’s extensive experience and the high quality of its services. He firmly denied the allegations made against him in the leaked report.

Notably, Shujau had purchased a land plot from Hulhumale’ for MVR 9.4 million in last year’s September. The payment for the land plot measuring over 2,000 square feet has been paid to Housing Development Corporation (HDC) in full.