"Is that your voice on the audio?" MP Raheem avoids the big question

MP for Fonadhoo constituency and Vice President of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Abdul Raheem Abdulla has dismissed a leaked audio, allegedly of him and former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb, by refusing to confirm or deny it.

At a press conference held by the ruling party on Thursday, RaajjeTV's reporter Abdulla Naseer Ibrahim questioned him on whether it was his voice on the audio which was leaked on Wednesday night. However, despite being asked repeatedly, Raheem continued to avoid answering the question.

Instead he answered by saying that "those who leaked the audio will know".

"What I am saying is that those who leaked the video will know whom the voices belong to. That is my answer [to this]. What I am saying is, let me be clear that more such audios will be leaked in the future," said MP Raheem.

The nearly two-minute audio is believed to be a phone call between Raheem and now jailed former VP Adeeb, where they are discussing Adeeb's appearance in a party rally, with the MP even asking for funds from Adeeb to "convert" two families to their side.

The leaked audio comes after President Abdulla Yameen called on those funded by Adeeb "to resign," saying that the funds from him "had not been halaal".