This handout picture released by the Maldives Presidency on September 24, 2018 shows Maldives former President Abdulla Yameen during a statement announcement in Male AFPAbdulla Yameen has been dogged by allegations that he received close to $1.5 million in illicit payments during his failed bid for re-election in the Indian Ocean archipelago nationFormer Maldives president Abdulla Yameen is under investigation for corruption, police said Sunday, after a court ordered accounts holding $6.5 million to be frozen. Yameen, who was defeated in a September election, was interviewed by police on the honeymoon islands on Saturday. He has been dogged by allegations that he received close to $1.5 million in illicit payments during his failed bid for re-election in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation. The former strongman president, who ruled the popular holiday islands with an iron fist, jailing or exiling his opponents, has denied the allegations. China has loaned billions of dollars to countries around the Indian Ocean and beyond for infrastructure development, stoking fears of a debt trap.

Source: Dhaka Tribune December 16, 2018 14:59 UTC