Mohamed Yaseen, Deputy Minister at the Fisheries Ministry, has been dismissed from his post over allegations that he defrauded many people out of millions of rufiyaa by claiming he could secure them flats and land plots through the government’s housing scheme.

Government spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef (Mundhu) told Adhadhu that after the case against Yaseen surfaced in the media, the government looked into it and decided to remove him. Police are also investigating Yaseen, though the Fisheries Ministry has not yet formally referred the case to them.

According to Adhadhu, Yaseen’s victims were not just ordinary members of the public. He is also said to have taken money from some Fisheries Ministry staff and even from state judges, promising to guarantee them flats and plots from government schemes.

He reportedly took between MVR 200,000 and MVR 400,000 from individuals in exchange for promised flats, and up to MVR 3 million from some people in exchange for promised land plots.

The total sum Yaseen is alleged to have obtained through deception is said to exceed MVR 25 million.