Two Foreign Nationals Arrested in Maldives for Illegal Dollar Trading

Two foreign nationals—an Indian and a Bangladeshi—have been arrested in the Maldives for allegedly buying and selling foreign currency at inflated rates without authorisation, police said on Tuesday. The suspects were identified as Pradeep Cholakotil Sankaranayanan, an Indian national, and Mohamed Rasel Mia, a Bangladeshi national. According to the Maldives Police Service, they were taken into custody following information received via a dedicated hotline set up to report illegal foreign currency transactions. Police stated that the arrests are part of ongoing efforts to crack down on unauthorised currency trading in the country. The investigation is continuing. This comes after three Bangladeshi nationals were also arrested on Tuesday in connection with similar illegal foreign exchange activities.