The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has raided the Ombudsperson’s Office of Transitional Justice over allegations of tampering with allegation findings.
The crackdown was confirmed by an official of the commission.
The commission raided the office due to recent allegations that came to light after one of its Ombudsperson, Jihadha Anees, made serious allegations in her resignation. The outgoing Ombudsperson had alleged that the office was altering the findings of ongoing or completed investigations.
Jihadha had specified challenges she faced in fulfilling her role as an Ombudsperson ranging from harassment to lack of cooperation from superiors. She alleged that the abrupt commencement of investigation against regulations on purposefully delayed cases previously, with just two weeks left of the legal duration of the office.
The legal duration of the office will expire on coming Friday, November 17, the office has attracted criticism of incompetency and address the cases under its mandate.
Under the Transitional Justice Act, which was implemented with the aim of providing justice for the Maldivian public from the misconducts of the past governments, the office was established to investigate major cases of corruption, misconduct and other discrepancies.
The raid by ACC to the Ombudsperson’s Office is the most recent in a series of crackdowns to various government bodies that previously included the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) and Urbanco; over potential misconduct from these institutions.