We would like to expand on the comments made today by President Waheed on the subject of the Artur brothers in the Maldives.
The President was briefed in January that the Artur brothers were in the Maldives, had not broken any laws and were being monitored by the police as a precaution. The administration later decided to ask them to leave once their visa extension expired.
The Artur brothers are no longer in the Maldives nor do they currently hold visas to return. The President, along with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Defence and National Security, and the Maldives Police Service are looking into any irregular dealings during the time the Artur brothers and their associates were here and will determine if there were any breaches in protocol or conduct that need to be addressed.
Protecting our borders, our citizens and our guests is of utmost importance to the Waheed administration and we are taking this situation very seriously.