Maldives Customs Service has revealed a total of MVR 31.7 million has been confiscated by the authority in the past six years under the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Act.
Statistics from the authority further indicated the highest confiscation recorded in 2018.
Former Minister of Defense Mariya Ahmed Didi provided the details in writing as response to the inquiry regarding the matter submitted by Central-Maafannu MP Ibrahim Rasheed in 2022. The MP had demanded statistical evidence of the money confiscated by Customs under the money laundering prevention law, which came into effect in 2014.
The minister’s response was disclosed at the Maldives Parliament during the sitting on Wednesday, November 29.
The amount confiscated by the authority in the past six years reached to MVR 31,772,807.56.
In 2018, Customs nabbed a total of MVR 17,324,371.68; which is the highest in the last six years, and the second highest was recorded in 2017 at MVR 5,157,934.02.
Details of Confiscated Money by Customs
- 2015: MVR 1,343,462.24
- 2016: MVR 2,879,122.48
- 2017: MVR 5,183,340
- 2018: MVR 17,363,054.60
- 2019: MVR 2,849,654.24
- 2020: MVR 2,154,174
The statistics also included monies without the currency highlighted. This included;
- 2015: MVR 116,886
- 2016: MVR 16,800
- 2017: MVR 34,792
- 2018: MVR 40,424.75
- 2019: MVR 3,400,000
- 2021: MVR 1,278,000