Maldives: Ex-leader, judges wanted to overthrow government
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Maldives officials are accusing two arrested Supreme Court justices and a former president of plotting to overthrow the government.
They say police have found more than $200,000 in suspicious money in searches since a state of emergency was declared last week in the tourist haven.
A presidential statement Sunday said ex-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom had bribed officials and judges and encouraged riots. It said he and the justices were "attempting to overthrow the government."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Opposition leaders rejected the accusations, saying President Yameen Abdul Gayoom is trying to weaken his political opponents.
Political chaos has shaken the government since the Supreme Court ordered that a group of imprisoned opposition leaders be freed. The government pushed back, eventually declaring a state of emergency and arresting the two justices, Gayoom and other politicians.