February 14, 2016
A massive money laundering cyclone involving $1.5 billion is set to hit the top political family of the Maldives, reveals a trove of documents accessed by The Sunday Standard. Key figures at the centre of the controversy are former Maldives Vice-President Ahmed Adeeb, Ghassan Maumoon and Faris Maumoon, who are the nephews of President Abdulla Yameen, and ex-President Abdul Maumoon Gayoom’s sons.
Documents and email communications reveal that a Singapore-based shadowy businessman named Tan Kuan Yew flew ‘huge cash amounts’ into the Maldives, which was then laundered through official banking channels in the island country. The money was then channelised into legitimate businesses by floating a front company, SitiTrust & Administrator Ltd. According to documents, the idea of a front company was first conveyed by Tan to Ghassan and Adeeb on December 30, 2014. Documents reveal name of several top government officials, which show that the conspiracy was hatched in connivance with them.