Ibrahim Shujau, Member of Parliament for Baarah constituency, has stated that he is unsure about the authenticity of a report that has surfaced on social media, allegedly prepared by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA). The report purportedly details certain transactions benefiting companies in which Shujau holds shares. In a social media post following the report’s circulation, the PNC member Shujau suggested that if the report is genuine, it grossly misrepresents or deliberately distorts how his company, Official Events, and some other businesses won and executed their contracts, seemingly with the intent to harm the businesses he’s involved in.
“The reason is that I have not received any information about this from any official agency. If it is an authentic document, I believe it is something done with the intention of greatly misrepresenting how those projects were won and how the work was done, or deliberately distorting the truth to damage the business company I have shares in,” Shujau said.
According to the intelligence report allegedly prepared by the FIU and sent to the police, Official Events, along with four other companies, have been involved in transactions. These include Swan Family, Store Pros Trading, Quick Shua, and DQ Holdings. The report was reportedly prepared regarding Shujau and two of his family members, Mohamed Nafiz and Ahmed Adham.
Among these, Nafiz is a Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Fisheries. Adham is a shareholder of Official Events. Adham also serves as a board member of PSM. According to the publicized documents, from November 1, 2023, to January 2024, companies in which Shujau and these two family members hold shares received 42.5 million rufiyaa from various government agencies in connection with different events.
Regarding the allegations, Shujau stated that his company is doing successful work in the Maldives within the framework of the country’s laws and regulations.
“During the presidencies of President Yameen, President Solih, and President Dr. Muizzu, projects have been successfully executed within established procedures. It is an evident fact that our company has won bids for such projects due to our vastly superior experience and quality of work. This will be apparent from our work,” Shujau said in his defense.
The report states that out of 23 million rufiyaa paid by the Ministry of Finance to SIFCO, the military company, on November 13, 2023, 13 million rufiyaa was released to Official Events. The 23 million rufiyaa that the Ministry of Finance allegedly released to SIFCO was for the expenses of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s inauguration ceremony.
Of this, when 13 million rufiyaa was released to Official Events, some of the money reportedly went to two companies mentioned in the FIU report. This includes 4.2 million rufiyaa to DQ Holdings and 2.3 million rufiyaa to Quick Shua. The report also claims that 8 million from the money SIFCO released to Official Events was spent on purchasing two apartments for Official Events’ shareholders. This 8 million is said to be a commitment fee. Each apartment is priced at 20 million rufiyaa.
Shujau stated that despite being a member of parliament, like any Maldivian citizen, he hopes to expand his business and progress in the future within the right to conduct business freely.
“To date, no agency has ever investigated or clarified any matter regarding me or any company I have shares in. And insha’Allah, there won’t be any issue that needs investigation. If there is any matter that needs to be investigated, the relevant authorities will investigate,” Shujau said.
FIU reports are confidential reports sent by the central bank to relevant agencies regarding financial transactions that may be related to criminal activities. As neither the MMA nor the police have commented on the report circulating on social media, the authenticity of the report and whether any investigation has been conducted, if it is authentic, is not yet known.
