Six expats arrested attempting to leave country with over MVR 3.86M in foreign currency hidden in cereal packets

Six expatriates were arrested from the Velana International Airport (VIA) on Friday, for allegedly attempting to leave the country with over MVR 3.86 million in foreign currency hidden inside Ye Ye brand cereal packets.

In a statement on Saturday, the police stated that the arrests were made in an operation following a tip received by the joint taskforce established in the crackdown on illegal trade of foreign currency.

The operation led to the arrest of six Bangladeshi men, who were attempting to board a plane to Dhaka.

They were arrested with MVR 3,861,415.29 in currency from 18 different countries. This includes $ 174,161 (US dollar), € 56,760 (Euros) and £ 1,815 (British Pound).

Photos shared by the police show wads of cash hidden inside Ye Ye cereal packets.

All six remain in police custody, and are under further investigation.

At a press briefing last week, Home Minister Ali Ihusan said that authorities were aware of cases were expatriates were operating corner stores as illegal US dollar exchangers with the aid of Maldivians.

He added that the authorities were investigating 12 expatriates believed to be involved in large-scale exchange of USD exchange in the black market.

The recently launched crackdown on illegal foreign currency trade includes amendments to the Foreign Currency Act prohibiting the advertisement or promotion of foreign exchange at rates exceeding those officially determined by the central bank.

The disclosure, publication, or dissemination of black-market exchange rates through digital platforms or any other medium is now punishable with fines of up to MVR 500,000 for individual offenders and up to MVR 5 million for legal entities or registered businesses.