The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes has rated the Maldives "Largely Compliant" overall with the international standard on exchange of information on request, in a peer review report published by the OECD on 3 November 2026.

What the rating means

The Global Forum uses a four-point scale: Compliant, Largely Compliant, Partially Compliant and Non-Compliant. Largely Compliant is the second level. The standard looks at whether a country keeps ownership, accounting and banking information, whether its tax authority can get it, and whether it can share it with partner countries when asked.

How the 10 elements scored

  • Compliant (six elements): access to information, notification and appeals, exchange-of-information agreements, the network of partners, confidentiality, and rights and safeguards.

  • Largely Compliant (three): accounting information, banking information and effective exchange of information.

  • Partially Compliant (one): availability of ownership and identity information.

Main recommendations

The report's main recommendations are about beneficial ownership information, meaning who ultimately owns or controls a company, and about how the rules are put into practice and enforced. It points to these gaps:

  • a lack of guidance on how to identify beneficial owners

  • no specified frequency for updating beneficial owner information when nothing triggers an update

  • limited oversight by the Registrar of Businesses and uneven supervision of anti-money laundering obligations

  • inactive companies, which the report says put the availability of information at risk

  • records that are not always kept for five years after an entity ceases to exist

Steps already taken

The Maldives joined the Global Forum in 2016. In 2024, beneficial ownership requirements were added to the Companies Act, with a central register kept by the Registrar of Businesses. Since April 2026, legal entities must also report this information to the tax administration when they register for tax.

Exchange of information in practice

The Maldives has exchange agreements covering 156 jurisdictions, and can exchange information with the 148 partners whose agreements are in force. It has not yet received any request, though it has sent a few to partners. It has a dedicated exchange of information unit and a guide, but the report says their effectiveness could not be fully assessed in practice and recommends the Maldives monitor it.

What happens next

The review covers 1 October 2022 to 30 September 2025, and the legal framework as of 14 August 2026. The Global Forum's Peer Review and Monitoring Group approved the report on 30 September 2026 and the Global Forum adopted it on 30 October 2026. Under its enhanced monitoring methodology, the Maldives should send the group a self-assessment report on the steps it has taken to address the recommendations.