Government Printed MVR 3.8 Billion Through the MMA, Says Ameer

13 Jul 2026 - 12:34

Former Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer has claimed that the current government has effectively printed MVR 3.8 billion through the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

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

According to Ameer, although the MMA states that it is pursuing a contractionary monetary policy, its actions indicate that it is actually implementing an expansionary monetary policy. He pointed out that broad money (M2) has increased by 32.5% over the past 17 months.

Based on figures presented during his presentation, the amount of MMA placements in commercial banks has now reached MVR 3.8 billion.

Speaking further on the issue, Ameer explained that commercial banks invest these funds in government Treasury securities, thereby channeling the money back to the government.

“The MMA’s placements in commercial banks have now reached approximately MVR 3.8 billion. The banks invest this money in government Treasury securities, and through that process the government receives the funds,” Ameer said.

Responding to repeated statements by senior government officials, including President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, that the government has not printed money, Ameer argued that the MMA’s own financial statements show otherwise.

He alleged that the MMA deposits money into banks, particularly the Bank of Maldives and that the banks then invest those funds in government securities. According to Ameer, this process amounts to money creation, or money printing, through a form of quantitative easing (QE).

In addition, Ameer noted that although the MMA announced it had withdrawn MVR 2.1 billion in excess liquidity from the banking system through open market operations, it had simultaneously injected an even larger amount of money into banks.

He concluded that while the government continues to insist it has not printed money, the available financial data indicates that money creation has in fact taken place through the MMA’s operations.