.svg)
Former President Mohamed Nasheed has called for international audit firms to disclose BML’s financial accounts, while alleging that the government is facing a severe shortage of foreign currency.
Mariyam Adheela
MDP Chairperson, and former president Mohamed Nasheed -- Photo: MDP
Male’: Former President and MDP Chairperson Mohamed Nasheed has called on international audit firms operating in the Maldives to disclose accurate financial accounts of Bank of Maldives amid the country’s ongoing dollar shortage.
In a social media post, Nasheed claimed the government currently has no foreign currency in its reserves and still needs around USD 50 million for regular bilateral payments.
He also alleged that the government had forced BML to use customer deposits to meet debt repayments, leaving the bank unable to honour some withdrawals.
The government currently has no foreign currency in its reserves. The country still needs to pay about another USD 50 million for its regular bilateral payments. The government has compelled the Bank of Maldives (BML) to use its customers’ deposits to meet debt repayments,…
— Mohamed Nasheed (@MohamedNasheed) September 21, 2026
BML has said dollar transactions are expected to return to normal by the end of this week after delays caused by increased demand for foreign currency.
The bank said it sold USD 653 million in foreign currency during the first eight months of this year, a 33.33 percent increase compared with the same period last year.
Nasheed said BML expects the situation to improve after the government begins receiving foreign currency from the mandatory conversion of 40 percent of resort revenues.
He claimed the measure could bring around USD 160 million into the Maldives Monetary Authority, but described reliance on the expected inflow as “wishful thinking.”
The Finance Ministry has rejected claims that public deposits at BML were used to repay a USD 50 million Treasury Bill issued through the State Bank of India.
The ministry said the T-Bill was repaid using funds accumulated in the Sovereign Development Fund, which had been allocated for such obligations.
The government introduced the 40 percent foreign currency conversion requirement for Category A tourism establishments from September 1. The measure requires resorts to convert 40 percent of their monthly gross sales through banks.
BML has separately said the recent dollar shortage resulted from a sharp increase in foreign currency outflows and that measures taken by the bank have helped bring outflows closer to its dollar inflows.
