Government submits bill to seize property gained through crime

The government has drafted a bill on seizing property acquired through criminal activity and submitted it to Parliament on Tuesday.

In a post on social media, President Muizzu said the bill establishes a legal framework to confiscate property obtained through criminal offences, closing avenues for offenders to profit from such assets. He said this would prevent criminals from making financial gains from the proceeds of crime.

The bill also seeks to resolve existing legal gaps in confiscating state property acquired by individuals who have committed serious criminal offences.

However, no further details of the bill have been published on Parliament’s website.

Maldivian law already contains provisions on the proceeds of crime, and an earlier amendment to the Drugs Act submitted by this government included a review of procedures for seizing and confiscating criminal property.

Notably, although courts have ordered the forfeiture of money and property obtained through crime in serious cases, such orders have rarely been enforced.