The first half of the Treasury Bill or T-bill, which was raised from the State Bank of India (SBI) during 2019, was off in January 2024, with a further USD 50 million repaid on 11 May 2026.
PSM News
Following the announcement on 17 September 2026 that the remaining USD 50 million of the USD 150 million Treasury Bill had been repaid, claims began circulating on social media alleging that the repayment was made using public deposits held in US dollar accounts at the Bank of Maldives (BML).
The first half of the Treasury Bill or T-bill, which was raised from the State Bank of India (SBI) during 2019, was off in January 2024, with a further USD 50 million repaid on 11 May 2026. However, unlike these two repayments, on 17 September 2026, when the Government paid off the remaining USD 50 million of the T-bill, claims began heavily circulating regarding where the USD for the repayment came from. This speculation of the money coming from public deposits held in US dollar accounts at BML comes at a time when the dollar constraints have led to BML imposing several measures; leading to a public outrage regarding difficulty in accessing US dollars.
Following the circulation of such speculations, on 18 September 2026, the Finance Ministry of the Maldives stated that the speculations of the T-bill being repaid using public deposit money in the BML accounts were unfounded. Further clarifying, the Ministry noted that the money was repaid using the money which was being deposited into the Maldives' Sovereign Development Fund.
