Former President Yameen Accuses President Muizzu Associate of Setting Fire to Government Building

Former Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has alleged that a close associate of President Muizzu was involved in setting fire to the Green Building complex in December 2024, claiming that law enforcement agencies possess evidence but are refusing to take action.

Addressing a gathering hosted by the opposition People’s National Front (PNF) on Thursday evening, Yameen accused authorities of withholding information regarding the blaze, which destroyed three government ministry offices on Ameenee Magu.

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“Police know well who is behind the fire incident on the Green Building last December,” Yameen alleged during the meeting. “They also know how closely that person is associated with Muizzu. They don’t want to take action.”

The former president also asserted that the fire was a deliberate attempt to destroy records and files associated with alleged corruption cases involving President Muizzu from his time as Mayor of Malé. Yameen also claimed that relevant case files held by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had similarly gone missing.

Government officials have consistently rejected claims of arson or intentional destruction of records. Home Affairs Minister Ali Ihusan previously stated that official findings pointed to an electrical short circuit in the wiring as the cause of the blaze.

The Green Building Fire Incident

The fire broke out at around 06:30am on 12 December 2024, rapidly spreading across the complex located in Maafannu. The inferno completely destroyed the structures housing the Ministry of Housing, Land and Urban Development, the Ministry of Construction and Infrastructure, and the Ministry of Climate Change, Environment and Energy, alongside offices of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Malé City Council.

Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) firefighters battled the blaze for over four hours to bring it under control, while police evacuated nearby residents and cordoned off the area. President Muizzu visited the site on the morning of the incident to inspect the damage.

Although vital physical records and servers were lost, the Housing Ministry later issued a statement clarifying that documentation for major public initiatives—including flat allocation lists under the Binveriyaa and Gedhoruveriyaa housing schemes—remained secure in cloud-hosted databases. Following the destruction, affected operations were temporarily relocated to Dharubaaruge, and the government subsequently merged the Housing and Construction ministries into a single entity.

In the days following the incident, the Maldives Police Service launched a forensic investigation, reviewing local CCTV footage, gathering physical samples, and interviewing eyewitnesses. Authorities also issued a public appeal for information regarding the fire.

To assist in determining the precise origin and cause of the blaze, the government brought in a specialist forensics team from the Indian police force. The visiting investigators conducted a thorough examination of the site, reviewed shared video and photographic evidence, and collected forensic samples before departing the Maldives on 22 December 2024 to process their findings. However, no updates have been released since.