Ameer Accuses Government of Misleading on Official Reserve Figures

Former Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer has accused the current government of manipulating and misrepresenting the Maldives’ official reserve figures.

Ameer made the remarks during a presentation at the MDP’s panel discussion titled “No Dollars”, held at Artificial Beach on Friday night.

According to Ameer, the country’s usable foreign exchange reserves (net reserves) became negative in October 2024, meaning the Maldives had effectively exhausted its usable reserves and fallen into a deficit. However, he alleged that the government later included funds received through India’s currency swap facility in bank deposits to present the reserve position as positive in official accounts.

“If everything was in order, there would have been no need to manipulate the figures. Even now, the reserves are being reported by including India’s swap funds,” Ameer said.

He further stated that, as of the end of May this year, the Maldives’ net usable reserves stood at only US$156 million.

Ameer also argued that the government’s new foreign currency regulations have not resulted in an increase in the amount of US dollars entering the banking system. He noted that although the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) had previously stated that 52% of tourism receipts entered the banking system in 2023, the expected improvement under the new regulations has not materialized.

Criticizing the government’s economic policies, Ameer said that what was previously considered a market failure has now become a policy failure. He claimed that government policies have contributed to the expansion of the black market for foreign currency, while US dollar deposits in banks have also failed to increase to the levels that had been anticipated.