Four expats, one Maldivian searched over unlicensed banking services

The Police have conducted searches involving four expatriates and a Maldivian national as part of an investigation into the provision of unlicensed banking services.

In a social media post last night, the Police revealed that a special operation was carried out on Monday by the Complex Financial Investigation Unit of the Economic Crime Investigation Department focusing on the unauthorized provision of banking services and the illegal exchange of foreign currency.

As part of the operation, authorities searched a retail outlet and a residence occupied by an expatriate and questioned four expatriates and a Maldivian national. However, police did not disclose whether any formal action had been taken or arrests made in connection with the individuals questioned.

The case remains under investigation.

In an effort to curb the black market for US dollars, the government has decided to prohibit the advertisement of foreign currency exchange rates exceeding those prescribed by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA). In addition, a dedicated task force has been established to facilitate the sharing of information on unauthorized foreign exchange activities, while a hotline has also been introduced to enable the reporting of such cases.

In August, Home Minister Ali Ihsan stated that an investigation into seven entities engaged in illegal currency exchange had found that USD 76 million was traded on the black market over a nine-month period. Since late August, the licenses of several establishments suspected of involvement in illegal foreign currency transactions have been suspended.

The Minister also stated last month that some expatriates were using corner shops as fronts for illegal dollar exchange operations, with Maldivian nationals allegedly being used as proxies to operate these unauthorized businesses.