Former Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail stated that the 25-year prison sentence given to former Controller General of Immigration Mohamed Shamaan Waheed was a consequence for exposing corruption within President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration.

On Tuesday, the Criminal Court declared Shamaan guilty of being an accomplice to theft by extortion, abusing authority for personal benefit, and money laundering. He received a prison sentence amounting to 25 years.

The accusation against him was grounded in the claim that Immigration officials extracted MVR 530,000 from a Bangladeshi laborer who was apprehended during a raid on unlawful migration in Male’.

Before entering his sentencing hearing, Shamaan reiterated to reporters that he believes the case against him was a setup orchestrated under direct instructions from Home Minister Ali Ihusan after he reported President Muizzu's supposed corruption. He also accused Attorney General Ahmed Usham of corruption, claiming that President Muizzu declined to act when he provided evidence of their wrongdoing and even issued threats against him.

In a Wednesday morning post on X, Fayyaz stated that Shamaan's remarks reflected the truth about the current administration.

“Shamaan received a prison sentence for disclosing the truth,” he wrote.

On Tuesday, Shamaan told reporters that Ihusan was extorting funds to approve quotas and work permits for foreign workers.

Fayyaz alleged that the current administration has resumed quota fraud, which he claimed the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government had ended.

Fayyaz stated, “The current administration sold the nation’s border control system to a Malaysian firm to enable this.”