Dhiggaru MP Faris Maumoon speaks to reporters. FILE PHOTO/MIHAARU
The Prosecutor General’s Office on Thursday returned a Police case against the lawmaker of Dhiggaru constituency Faris Maumoon, saying that charges cannot be pressed as the statute of limitations has already passed.
The police had forwarded a case against MP Faris, the son of Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, over failure to repay some expenses he had spent using the state budget allocated for the presidential palace during his father’s tenure as president. Police forwarded the case to the PG after the Anti-Corruption Commission submitted the issue to the police.
The PG Office returned the case, stating that the statute of limitations specified in the Penal Code for the case has already passed and, thus, MP Faris cannot be prosecuted.
According to the Penal Code, the statute of limitations for felonies is eight years and for misdemeanours three years.
Meanwhile, MP Faris was also recently summoned to Police Headquarters over accusations that he had attempted to bribe and influence lawmakers. It remains unclear whether Police have forwarded that case to the PG.