Abdulla Yameen, former president of Maldives has requested for the hearings in the money laundering trial over the leasing of Aarah island in Vaavu atoll to a foreign party for resort development, to be delayed until they can be livestreamed.

A hearing in connection to the case was held at the Criminal Court on Wednesday.

During a hearing held on 13 January 2022, the defendant’s legal team requested for the hearings to be broadcast live as they proceed. However, during the hearing held on 27 January 2022, presiding judge Ahmed Shakeel had revealed that the court is currently facing challenges in doing so due to administrative issues.

With this being said, the defendant had requested the court to livestream the hearings through any means possible if the court does not have the resources, during the last hearing held on 10 February 2022.

During Wednesday’s hearing, the defendant’s legal team stressed on the importance of livestreaming the hearings, to defend the rights of their client. As such, the ex-president stressed that he has been receiving multiple threats, the answer to which he claims is livestreaming his trial.

The state prosecutors also backed the request to livestream hearings, as they believe cases linked to corruption must be opened to the public. State attorneys requested the court to engage with media or private companies to ensure the hearings are livestreamed.

Although the court does not object to livestreaming hearings, the presiding judge made a point that hearings cannot be delayed just because they currently do not have the resources to broadcast live hearings.

The judge went on to reveal that they would discuss on resolving the issue by the next hearing, adding that the court is currently working to appoint an IT officer as well.

The next hearing in the case is slated for 6 March 2022, which will focus on evidence presentation.

The hearing held on Wednesday also saw former MP for Felidhoo constituency, Yoosuf Naeem pleading not guilty to the charge raised against him.

Yameen is charged under Article 53 (a), 5(a) (2) in reference to (3), as well as under Article 53(b), (6) and (7) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Act, for laundering money. The second charge comes under Section 510 of the Penal Code, for accepting bribes.

The island near V. Thinadhoo, used as a picnic island, was initially awarded to a local company in which former leader of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Ahmed Thasmeen Ali has a share. The island was sold off to Naeem during September 2015. Naeem is believed to have been a close ally of the former president.

He is to have sold the island to a foreign company later, the deal through which Yameen pocketed the USD one million.

The hearings for Naeem are proceeding alongside Yameen’s since the trial began on January 2 this year.

Maldives Police Service (MPS) concluded investigations into the Aarah sale case on 30 April 2021, and had even forwarded the case for prosecution.

The Prosecutor General’s Office forwarded the case to court on 24 November 2021.

PG Office revealed that Yameen is accused of misusing his official authority to launder USD one million in connection to the lease of Aarah, to Naeem for resort development.

Two counts of money laundering charges have been raised against Yameen while Naeem faces one charge.

Naeem is charged under Section 510 of the Maldives Penal Code, for bribery.

Yameen was questioned by the Maldives Police Service (MPS) in connection to the case, back in July 2021.

This was revealed by Jameel who confirmed that his client was summoned in regards to a case of which investigations had earlier concluded, he said that the case 'had been reopened once more'.

Jameel said that his client was innocent and that the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) case is not linked to him in any way.

Jameel, who was Yameen's running mate in 2013 and later impeached, indicated that Yameen's innocence can be proven from parliament who he noted has a list of "true suspects" in the MMPRC case. He noted that this list has been shared with the asset recovery commission as well.

The incarcerated ex-president’s legal team accused the government of politically torturing him through a plot.

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, SoF, during his presidential tenure. He was also slapped with a fine totaling USD five million, to be settled within six months.

The ex-president was transferred to house arrest in April 2021, in the middle of Ramadan 1442 after receiving the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine and at a time reports were confirmed that officers at the Maafushi Prison tested positive for the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The Supreme Court overturned the five-year prison sentence slapped on the former president, in late November 2021. However, he was prohibited from traveling overseas. Police sought an order to ban the recently freed ex-president from traveling out of the Maldives, at the Criminal Court citing ongoing trials and investigations. The ban expired within seven days of his release.

Yameen is being tried for fresh new charges linked to the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) scandal. As such, he faced charges of bribery and money laundering in connection to the leasing of Fuggiri island in Raa atoll. He was charged in connection to the case during June 2020. He faces five charges in total, over the pending trials.