First hearing in case of Yameen's unsettled fine scheduled for October
The hearing will begin at 11:20am on October 6, at the Civil Court
Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom
The first hearing in the trial of incarcerated Former President Abdulla Yameen's failure to settle the USD five million fine imposed on him in his money laundering conviction in 2019, has been scheduled for October 6.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, the state had filed the case at the Civil Court on 24 August 2021, to order Yameen to pay up the fine.
Yameen was sentenced to five years in prison on 28 November 2019, after being found guilty of laundering USD one million through state-owned MMPRC via a private company, Scores of Flair, during his presidential tenure. He was also given a fine totaling USD five million, along with the jail sentence, to be settled within six months.
The hearing will begin at 11:20am on October 6, at the Civil Court.
AG Office had attempted to acquire the fine through the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA), after forwarding the relevant documents on 11 August 2021, in accordance with Article 50 of the Tax Administration Act of the Maldives, which states that “unless specified otherwise in another Act, if a fee, or rent, or royalty, or fine, or any other money required to be paid to the MIRA by any person under any Act is not paid within the period required, MIRA, in collecting such money from such person, shall follow the procedures specified in this chapter as being the procedures to be followed in collecting tax unpaid by a person required to pay tax under a Taxation Act.”
After the AG Office decided to file the case at the Civil Court, Yameen’s defense attorneys revealed that the money laundering conviction has been appealed at the Supreme Court, which was why the fine is unsettled.
The corruption trial against Yameen over the lease of R. Fuhgiri for resort development, is also ongoing. Further, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Presidential Inquiry Commission on Asset Recovery as well as the Maldives Police Service are currently conducting probes against the ex-president, regarding the MMPRC grand corruption case.
