ACC questions Shamaan regarding his allegations against Home Minister Ihusan

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has questioned former Controller General of Immigration Shamaan Waheed, who is currently serving a life sentence, to provide clarification regarding corruption allegations he made against Home Minister Ali Ihsan.

Last June, the Criminal Court sentenced Shamaan to a cumulative 25 years in prison after finding him guilty of three offenses: accomplice to theft by extortion, misuse of authority for personal gain and money laundering. The case involved the detention of a group of foreign workers in an illegal operation carried out alongside several Immigration employees, during which MVR 530,000 was extorted from one of them.

At a press conference held shortly before his sentencing, Shamaan claimed that he had been framed on the orders of Home Minister Ali Ihsan. He further alleged that Ihsan had "sold" the country's border control system to specific interest groups. Shamaan also claimed that when he attempted to prevent the move, President Muizzu contacted him directly and asked him not to oppose it.

An ACC Spokesperson confirmed to Sun that Shamaan had been brought before the commission for questioning regarding the allegations.

During the trial, Shamaan's wife and parents testified in his defense. Their testimony primarily sought to establish that the money used to repay Shamaan's student loan had been provided by his father rather than derived from the alleged crime. The prosecution, however, maintained that Shamaan had retained part of the half-million rufiyaa allegedly taken from the foreign national and used the remainder to settle his student loan.