The President’s Office has rejected a report claiming it refused to disclose President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s financial declaration, pointing out that an asset declaration for the President is publicly available through its official website.
The response came after Adhadhu published a report stating that the President’s Office had refused to provide financial statements requested by the news outlet.
Chief Government Spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef disputed the characterisation of the response, describing the report as false and stressing that the President’s asset declaration can be accessed and downloaded from the President’s Office website.
According to the President’s Office, the availability of the declaration had also previously been announced publicly through the media.
The dispute stems from a Right to Information request submitted by Adhadhu seeking information about the President’s annual financial declarations.
Adhadhu said it asked the President’s Office whether Muizzu had submitted annual financial statements to the Auditor General for 2024, 2025 and 2026, as well as requesting copies of those documents.
In its report, the outlet said the President’s Office declined to provide the requested information after raising an issue over whether Adhadhu Online could be verified as a legal entity.
The response cited provisions of the Right to Information Act and stated that the information would not be released through the request until documentation establishing the outlet’s legal status was provided.
Adhadhu subsequently characterised the response as the President’s Office refusing to release Muizzu’s financial statements.
The President’s Office has challenged that description, arguing that the President’s asset declaration is already publicly accessible and therefore rejecting the suggestion that the information itself is being withheld from the public.
The official President’s Office website currently lists an “Asset Declaration” alongside Muizzu’s profile, allowing members of the public to access the document.
Under Article 120 of the Constitution, the President is required to submit an annual statement to the Auditor General detailing assets and money owned, business interests and liabilities.
Adhadhu CEO Hussain Fiyaz Moosa has criticised the response to the outlet’s RTI request and said the matter has been appealed to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
The disagreement therefore centres not only on whether a financial declaration is publicly accessible, but also on the handling and scope of the specific information request submitted by the news outlet.
Shareef also accused Adhadhu of repeatedly publishing false information about President Muizzu and the administration for political purposes.
He said the government would continue responding when it believes inaccurate information has been published and would present what it considers the correct facts to the public.
Adhadhu, meanwhile, maintains that its request concerned the President’s annual submissions to the Auditor General and has challenged the President’s Office response through the RTI appeals process.
