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Thinadhoo City Mayor Saud - Photo: Thinadhoo City Council

MALÉ: The Prosecutor General’s Office has officially filed two criminal charges against Thinadhoo City Mayor Saud Ali, a member of the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), in connection with the alleged falsification of population statistics to obtain city status for GDh. Thinadhoo.

The formal indictment follows an extensive investigation by the Maldives Police Service, which was forwarded to the Prosecutor General’s Office on August 19. Investigators examined allegations that Mayor Saud submitted fraudulent documentation to government agencies to inflate the island’s registered population.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the first charge involves knowingly providing a fraudulent document, carrying a base sentence of one year, seven months, and six days in prison. The charge stems from a letter signed by Saud as council president to the Local Government Authority (LGA), which included deceased individuals, unverified entries, repeated names, and individuals registered on other islands.

The second charge involves providing false information to an official agency, which carries a base sentence of four months and 24 days in prison. This charge was filed because the council failed to provide requested documents to police and communicated via fax that no records existed showing population lists were sent to state bodies.

Key legal charges and case details include:

• Charge 1 (Knowingly Submitting Fraudulent Document): Base sentence of 1 year, 7 months, and 6 days in prison for submitting lists containing deceased persons and non-residents to the LGA.

• Charge 2 (Providing False Information to Official Agency): Base sentence of 4 months and 24 days in prison for failing to share requested records with police and claiming no transmission logs existed.

• Combined Base Sentence: A total potential prison term of 2 years and 1 month if convicted on both counts.

• Population Discrepancy: Former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih declared Thinadhoo a city on August 31, 2023, when Department of National Registration records listed 7,906 residents, whereas later Elections Commission records placed the figure at 10,150.

The case against Mayor Saud Ali will now proceed to trial in court following the official updates published on the Prosecutor General’s Office portal.