The Attorney General's Office has said that civil rights and security will not be compromised by the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) between the Maldives and India.

A statement issued by the AG Office noted that the proposed arrangement will provide a broad legal framework for bilateral cooperation with Maldives in investigation of crime and prosecution of criminals as well as in tracing, restraint and confiscation of proceeds, and instruments of crime as well as funds meant to finance terrorist acts

The statement further revealed that apart from India, countries such as Sri Lanka , United Arab Emirates and Russia have shown interest in establishing a similar treaty, for which discussions are ongoing. Such agreements and frameworks, according to the statement, will fast track criminal investigations due to the mutual cooperation between countries.

The mechanism for mutual legal assistance is set down in the Mutual Legal Assistance Act (No. 2/2015) and that the government has been making use of that mechanism since 2015.

The mechanism states that assistance in investigations, assistance in obtaining judicial documents and bank records are areas where other countries could request for the assistance of Maldives. However, the Prosecutor General's Office holds the right to reject any such requests.