The Auditor General's Office (AGO) has revealed that the Maldives Media Council (MMC) has still not recovered more than USD39,000 from the living allowances previously given to its members.
The audit report for 2022 states that a total exceeding USD66,000 was disbursed as a living allowance to 15 council members during its initial term in violation of the law. The report highlighted that 10 of the members failed to reimburse USD44,000 to the council.
According to the report, the Ministry of Finance pursued legal action to recover the funds and the lower court mandated the return of the funds to the state. Following an appeal, the High Court upheld the decision, asserting that the money should be repaid to the state. However, the report underscored that the repayment has not been made even after more than a year has passed. The law for reclaiming public office funds allows for additional deadlines through the court if the stipulated time passes without receipt of the money.
The report by AGO noted that MMC adhered to legal expenditure allocations to fulfil the budget objectives approved by the Parliament of the Maldives. MMC had been allocated a budget exceeding USD324,000 for the council in 2022, with a year-end surplus of over USD12,000.