This Friday, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea will deliver its decision on the dispute between Mauritius and the Maldives over a common frontier. However, this is being overshadowed by allegations of bribery against President Ibrahim Solih. According to the archipelago’s opposition, he had received the sum of $500 million or Rs 22 billion to change his position on the Chagos.
However, the Mauritian Foreign Minister refused to comment at this stage on the allegations made against President Solih. Alan Ganoo, who was attending a conference at the Sir Harilah Vaghjee Lall, said he was waiting for official documents from the Maldives Parliament before commenting.
However, he said there are allegations that it was the Mauritian government who gave the bribe while others claim that it was fishing companies that did so.
In the Mauritian press, the leader of the opposition of the Maldives was questioned on the subject. Adam Shareef Umar said “it’s not true to say it’s a set-up because of the elections.” He added that the opposition has been denouncing this case since last year. Adam Shareef Umar added that Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has a duty to come and explain to the people about the change of position he has had about the Chagos Islands.
All this started with a letter that the deputy leader of the Maldives Revolutionary Movement wrote to his country’s Chief Justice. He reports that President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih received a bribe of $ 500 million from the Mauritian government to change Maldives’ position on the Chagos issue. In his correspondence to the Chief Justice of the Maldives, Ahmed Fayaz refers to a secret letter that President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih sent to Pravind Jugnauth in August 2022.
According to him, the Maldivian authorities are considering ceding a large maritime zone to Mauritius, located south of its territorial waters. This area would be, he said, very rich in terms of resources and biodiversity.
Ahmed Fayaz also explained that the letter sent to Pravind Jugnauth was a breach of the Maldives Constitution because the Parliament had not been informed beforehand.
In fact, during a parliamentary session this morning, MP Adam Shareef Umar made an urgent motion requesting that the National Assembly consider the letter sent to Pravind Jugnauth.
The motion was passed after 23 MPs voted for and 19 against.
The Maldives is amid a presidential campaign, with the elections scheduled for September. Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the incumbent president, is running for a second term. He won his party’s primary in January.
