Phone and Passports Seized in Shamaan Waheed's Bribery Case

News

Authorities have seized the phone of Mohamed Shamaan Waheed’s wife and confiscated the passports of two other individuals amid an ongoing bribery investigation involving the former Immigration Controller.

Shamaan was arrested on Friday night under a court order for allegedly accepting bribes from an expatriate who was detained by immigration officials in exchange for his release.

A police spokesperson confirmed that the phone was seized under a court order, and two individuals have been banned from traveling.

The Criminal Court has extended Shamaan's remand for 15 days, along with the remand extensions for the three immigration employees accused in the case.

According to police statements, after the release of the expatriate, immigration officers transported MVR 530,000, allegedly taken as a bribe, to the building where Shamaan resides.

The bribery accusations emerged after police investigations indicated that certain immigration officials had abused their authority to search an expatriate accommodation, detaining expatriates and seizing cash from them.

Police noted that the operation was carried out by staff from sections other than the Task Force and Risk Management divisions, which are officially responsible for identifying and detaining expatriates living and working illegally in the Maldives. They stated that the staff involved had misused their positions in executing the operation.