Paper Title
Application of Effective Legal Mechanisms to Strengthen Current Anti-Corruption System of the Maldives

Abstract
Corruption is a harmful plague that causes detrimental effects to the political and economic stability of a country. Corruption has turned into a major catastrophe for the Maldives, as the country has lost billions of assets and has caused adverse damages to the nation. This qualitative study gives an extensive insight into contemporary anti-corruption related legislations of the Maldives. These legislations are thoroughly analyzed and evaluated for its compliance with the provisions of the United Nations Convection Against Corruption. Experts who work in the field of combating corruption in Maldives were interviewed to identify the challenges in the current legal framework. The anti-corruption legal framework established in Hongkong and Singapore were reviewed to identify the controls that have developed in their systems. The data gathered were analyzed, using thematic analysis method to identify the issues within the legal framework of the Maldives. Findings of this research illustrates that; there are gaps in the legal framework, which requires enactment of new laws and amending existing legislation to align with UNCAC. Furthermore, the current system lacks implementation due to political influence. Therefore, it is crucial to give importance to implement the existing statues and mechanisms to enhance the anti-corruption efforts. Lastly, this research recommends timely action plan to strengthen the current anti-corruption system of the Maldives. Keywords - Corruption, United Nations Convention Against Anti-Corruption (UNCAC), Anti-corruption legislations, Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), investigation, prosecution, Maldives, Hongkong, Singapore