Maldives Customs Service has stated that no officer suspected in the MVR 400 million corruption has been retired.

The police said yesterday that they began investigating a case of money laundering, embezzlement, and bribery suspected of Customs employees on August 19, 2024, after it came to their attention.

Denying rumors spreading that suspected officers have been retired, Customs said in a message sent to media today that no officer identified by the police as being involved in the investigation has been retired from the service.

Customs also said that they have been informed that the police are conducting an investigation related to money laundering, embezzlement, and bribery suspected of some Customs officers.

A senior government official familiar with the case told "One" yesterday that the issue of MVR 400 million being circulated in the accounts of some Customs employees came to attention as an embezzlement case.

The official said that the case of 20 Customs officers has come to the attention of relevant authorities.

"Such a case has come to attention and has now been submitted to the police. According to the information received, the police are now looking into matters that need to be investigated in connection with the case," the official said.

The official told "One" that so far, the police have been investigating the cases of three or four officers out of these 20 people.

"This MVR 400 million has circulated in the accounts of 20 people. But the police have only expanded the investigation to three or four people so far," the official said.

According to another source who spoke to "One", these 20 employees are working in various departments of Customs. This includes employees working at the Customs head office and those working in the arrivals section of the Customs airport unit. It is understood that most of them are employees engaged in tasks such as form filling. The second source also told "One" that all of these are male employees.

"One" has learned that the three or four people whose investigation has been expanded by the police are currently on leave. It is understood that they took leave after the investigation of the case began.

The senior government official who provided information to "One" said that Customs officers are suspected of engaging in bribery acts in the process of collecting import duty for the state. The official said that the police have also seized the electronic devices of these four people in connection with this.

The official also said that one of the 20 officers suspected in the case is a person who has retired from Customs service Customs service.