News Desk
The Finance Ministry has confirmed that the final instalment of a $150 million treasury bill facility taken from the State Bank of India in 2019 was repaid on 17 September using funds accumulated in the Sovereign Development Fund.
The ministry issued the clarification after claims circulated that the $50 million payment had been made using public deposits held at Bank of Maldives. It said those claims had no basis.
The SBI facility was taken by the Solih administration to meet budget financing needs. The current government has repaid it in three instalments: $50 million in January 2024, another $50 million in May 2024, and the final $50 million this week. President Muizzu had publicly committed at a press conference on 11 May 2026 that the final payment would be made on its due date.
The ministry said the repayment was planned well in advance and funded from money being deposited into the SDF over time.
The government said that despite the scale of the debt repayments, arrangements remain in place to ensure the uninterrupted import of essential goods including food, fuel and medicines.
