Maldives' Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed on Thursday claimed that a deliberate attempt was made by certain individuals to disrupt the island nation's financial system. Saeed's comment comes days after President Mohamed Muizzu levelled the same charge against the opposition party, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
The ruling party's charge came after the country's Bank of Maldives (BML) restricted foreign transactions from debit and credit cards issued by the bank, sparking alarm among the people. However, the decision was reversed within hours after an instruction from the country's banking regulator.
The BML's move came days after it was reported that Maldives usable dollar reserve had run out. This is the first time in the country's history that the reserves have fallen to minus, Male-based Adhadhu news portal reported. The portal, citing sources, reported that the usable dollar reserves were currently at a minus.
Days after this report surfaced, the BML blocked dollar transactions with Rufiyaa cards and reduced the limit of credit cards to $100. The bank said these changes were effective immediately and were in response to the escalating usage of foreign currency spend on cards and the static sale of foreign currency to the Bank.
Muizzu's party officials claimed that the opposition party was behind BML's decision, and even questioned why former Finance Minister administration held a press conference at the same time as bank's announcement of the dollar limitations.
AFP reported that the police in the Maldives are probing an alleged attempt to topple Muizzu by stirring anger over the financial situation. Muizzu slammed the move as an "illegal attempt" to overthrow his government. "An investigation has been launched into the alleged coup attempt," the police said in a statement late Monday.
The police said scathing criticism of the government had erupted online. "Hundreds of 'bot' accounts have been used on social media to encourage people to take to the streets to overthrow the government and incite public unrest," police said.
In a press briefing on Thursday, the economic minister said that a lot of things happened with BML's decision and accused the opposition party of spreading lies about the country's financial status at that time, Edition.mv reported. The minister also accused some individuals on social media of trying to destroy the financial system. "When all these dots are connected, these are the conclusions we're led to," he said. "I think those who are investigating the matter will likely make a statement about it."
On Sunday, Maldives' former Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer said Male was heading towards failure and that the root cause of the current financial crisis was the government's reliance on expected revenues. Ameer said credit rating agencies such as Fitch and Moody's were likely to downgrade Maldives' credit ranking soon.