Attorney General Aishath Azima Shakoor has responded to the claims made by the former Immigration Controller Ilyas Hussain that the AG had conflicts of interest in the corruption laden border control system project. A letter sent to President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik by Ilyas stated that the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) accusing corruption in the border control system project was seeking legal expertise from a law firm with affiliations to Azima.
In the letter he further alleged that the ACC had filed for appeal at the High Court under the legal expertise of that law firm.
However, Azima had refuted all claims made by the former Immigration Controller.
“No legal expertise in this case had been given to ACC before or after I was appointed as the AG. The law firm had not provided any legal expertise to the ACC. This is a blatant lie,†Azima said.
She detailed that the law firm has been appointed on ‘retainer’ and would only provide legal expertise in cases upon request by the ACC. But in the border control system case ACC had not sought legal expertise from the law firm at any time, AG added.
Azima further pledged continued assistance to the institutions in efforts to curb corruption. To that end, she stressed that the State must respond to the call by the ACC to investigate the allegations of corruption in the border control project.
“I’m not required to pick and choose the projects involving allegations of corruption. Basically, what Ilyas is trying to say is that the former AG of the previous administration had defended the project while the current AG had not followed suit. My answer is that when ACC asks to cease a particular project over corruption allegations, I will not defend it,†Azima explained.
She also said a decision of necessary action against the false allegations made in Ilyas’s letter which was demeaning in nature would be taken at the earliest. On that note, she added that her lawyers were now assessing the case.
“Ilyas has demeaned me by making false allegations. Hence my rights have been violated, I will decide on a course of action very soon,†she added.
Azima further said that the uncovered facts during the investigation of police and the ACC into the border control project have almost confirmed the levels of corruption in the border control system project.
Ilyas in his letter to the President had stressed that the conflicts of interest on the part of the AG could have dire consequences for both the State and the Immigration Department while adding that such conflicts of interest could not possibly ensure that the State could be presented without prejudice.
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