Russia has stated that an anonymous account on X (formerly Twitter) is run by a former senior political leader of the Maldives. The Russian Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Levan Dzhagaryan, said that the account named Hassan Kurusi onusi on X is operated by a former Maldivian senior political leader who has fled to a European country.
The Ambassador made this statement while noting that the Kurusi account is working to weaken the relationship between the Maldives and Russia. He also assured that the statements made by that account would not affect the relationship between the two countries.
The Kurusi account has alleged that chips were transported to Russia via Velana International Airport. This claim was made by the account in reference to the US Ambassador to the Maldives. Ambassador Dzhagaryan further stated that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu is taking many steps to improve the Maldives’ weakened financial situation, and highlighted that the thousands of Russian tourists visiting the Maldives are greatly contributing to this effort.
The Hassan Kurusi account was very active during the previous MDP government. It frequently disclosed highly confidential internal government information and posted many criticisms of the government. As a result, it was initially suspected that former President Mohamed Nasheed was running the Kurusi account. However, Nasheed has denied this.
The Kurusi account was created in October 2022. The account has been criticizing the government and various political figures, as well as making allegations of corruption. As the issue with the account escalated, in August 2023, the police obtained a court order through the Criminal Court to identify the person behind it. However, the identity has not yet been officially discovered. Currently, over 50,000 people follow Kurusi on X.
