Ex-Pres. freed after top court overturned money laundering conviction

The Supreme Court has overturned the five-year prison sentence slapped on Former President Abdulla Yameen, who was found guilty of money laundering in 2019.

The verdict hearing in the case was held at the country’s top court on Tuesday, where presiding Justice Mahaz Ali Zahir issued the ruling on the matter.

Justice Mahaz, citing the appeal points presented by the defendant, revealed that Yameen had presented seven points during the earlier stage of the hearings and that it has been proven that Yameen was issued legal warnings over the money laundering accusations, which he had even signed.

Although Yameen claimed that the trial was not justified, he failed to present evidence to back this claim at Criminal Court, due to which the High Court had also upheld the ruling.

Regarding the points presented by Yameen on “unclear” charges, Justice Mahaz cited the High Court decision revealing that details regarding the charges raised against him were penned in the charges form.

The judges’ bench rejected many of the appeal points presented by Yameen, however, some of the key points including the inconsistency in the number written on the cheque to deposit the laundered money to Yameen’s account, was considered.

The verdict to overturn Yameen’s five-year prison sentence was reached with the consensus of all three justices presiding over the case; Mahaz Ali Zahir, Dr. Azmiralda Zahir and Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim

The appeal trial began at the Supreme Court on September 12. Yameen made 22 appeal points which were detailed throughout the course of hearings held and the last hearing was held in October.

Issuing the verdict, Justice Mahaz decided to overturn the Criminal Court and High Court verdict, with the justice having summarized the case overall.

Further, during the verdict hearing the court revealed that it found it significant to unveil the truth behind the USD 79.37 million (MVR 1.22 billion) deposited to Yameen’s bank account.

Justice Mahaz revealed that Yameen had requested Former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb to transfer his money back to him, following the presidential speedboat explosion, via a phone call. He is to have detailed the account to deposit the money as well. However, Adeeb had denied all these claims. Mahaz revealed that it has been proven that a total of USD one million was deposited to Yameen’s bank account in connection to the case.

Yameen revealed that he was not aware the funds were being transferred through SoF, and said that he only found out after ACC President Hassan Luthufee phoned him about it.

Yameen was sentenced to five years in prison on 28 November 2019, after being found guilty of laundering USD one million through state-owned Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) via a private company, Scores of Flair (SoF), during his presidential tenure. He was given a fine totaling USD five million, to be settled within six months as well. The High Court upheld this verdict.

The conviction was subsequently appealed at the Supreme Court.