Financial expert Ismail Zariyand has warned that the government’s plan to take on another large loan at 15 percent interest to settle this year’s maturing debt will only deepen the country’s financial crisis.
Zariyand noted that the Maldives faces USD 1 billion in repayments this year, including a USD 500 million sukuk maturing in April and an additional USD 100 million due the same month.
In a post on X on Wednesday, he alleged that Cargills is preparing a USD 300 million loan at 15 percent interest to help the government repay the sukuk. He further claimed that the Bank of Maldives (BML) is expected to cover the remaining amount.
“If this holds, default may be avoided now but risk is pushed forward to public savings” he wrote, adding how such borrowing would ultimately increase the government’s debt burden and place the cost on ordinary citizens’ savings.
Zariyand also said he met representatives of the Finance Ministry and Cargills in Singapore, and that the company had visited the Maldives as part of efforts to arrange the USD 300 million facility.
Neither BML nor the government has commented on the allegations.
A USD 500m sukuk is due in April 2026. Following an unrecorded meeting in Singapore involving Finance Ministry representatives, a subsequent Cargill visit to Maldives, and related email communications, market talk suggests USD 300m could come from Cargill at around 15%, with the…
— Ismail Zariyand (@zariyand) January 14, 2026
Former President Mohamed Nasheed has previously stated that the government was considering a USD 300 million loan from Cargills at 15 percent interest, expressing concern over the high rate.
Cargills has extended sovereign‑backed loans to the Maldives before:
USD 100 million in 2022 at 7.15% interest
USD 50 million in November 2024 at 13.13% interest, taken over three years to finance essential imports
Zariyand warned that taking on new high‑interest debt to repay old debt would leave the Maldives with an even larger repayment burden, even if it avoids default in the short term.
The government previously said it was working to refinance part of the USD 500 million sukuk, meaning a new bond would be issued to delay repayment. However, financial experts say raising affordable debt will be difficult as Fitch and Moody’s have downgraded the Maldives to “junk” status, signalling high risk to investors.
With USD 1.1 billion in repayments due this year, international financial institutions have been urging spending cuts and fiscal reforms since 2021. These measures have not been implemented, though the government continues to assure that all debts will be paid on time.