COLOMBO, Dec 16 : Former Maldives president Abdulla Yameen is under investigation for corruption, police said Sunday, after a court ordered accounts holding USD 6.5 million to be frozen.
He has been dogged by allegations that he received close to USD 1.5 million in illicit payments during his failed bid for re-election in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation.
The country’s monetary authority has lodged a police complaint about the alleged donations made into a private account held by Yameen in two suspicious tranches, local media reported.
The former strongman president, who ruled the popular holiday islands with an iron fist, jailing or exiling his opponents, has denied the allegations.
Beijing has challenged New Delhi for regional influence, including in strategically-located nations like the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Nepal which have traditionally been within India’s orbit.
China has loaned billions of dollars to countries around the Indian Ocean and beyond for infrastructure development, stoking fears of a debt trap.
Solih departed for India on Sunday on his first official visit abroad since assuming office. He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Monday.
Yameen’s five-year tenure was marked by the jailing of all his key rivals most of whom have returned to the country after his toppling.
