Male’, Maldives – The infamous whistleblower of the Maldives Media and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) corruption scandal, Gasim Abdul Kareem has been appointed as the president of the National Integrity Commission (NIC) by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, today.
Along with Gasim, three other members were also appointed to the NIC, which are, Aminath Shadhiya, Aminath Shiuna, and Shuaib Abdul Rahman. Prior to this, only one member was serving the commission, which is Colonel (Retired) Ahmed Jihad.
Gasim formerly served as the manager of Bank of Maldives (BML)’s Nilandhoo branch, during which time, he exposed suspicious transactions made by SoF Pvt Ltd., which ultimately led to the unveiling of the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Company (MMPRC) grand corruption scandal.
He was arrested and charged under Article 232 (Unlawful Acquisition of Information) and Section 233 (Unlawful Disclosure of Information) of the Penal Code. He was proven guilty and was jailed for 8 months and 12 days, but was then released on 17th of November 2016.
Four spots became vacant for NIC after the President of the Commission Ahmed Sulaiman was dismissed, following which, the Vice President of NIC, Hassaan Hameed along with members Ahmed Ameen and Khadheeja Abdulla also resigned
The National Integrity Commission was first launched as the Police Integrity Commission in 2008. And was later changed to National Integrity Commission in 2016. The responsibilities of NIC include forwarding complaints related to the Police to the Prosecutor General’s Office after investigation, as well as to investigate cases related to Customs, Immigration, and Correctional Services.
