Appeal hearings over the acquittal of ex-Islamic Minister to begin on Sunday

Hearings in the appeal filed by the state over the acquittal of former Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr. Ahmed Ziyad Bagir are to begin on Sunday.

The appeal hearings are to begin at the High Court at 09:45am on Sunday.

The Criminal Court acquitted the former minister alongside Ibrahim Abdulla Saeed who was also charged in connection to the case, on 2 November 2021.

As such, the court had ruled in favor of Bagir, after claiming that details of him misusing his official authority were not made clear. Bagir and Saeed were charged with misuse of official authority, linked to a contract awarded to SJ Construction by the Islamic Ministry, to construct a multi storied mosque in Male , namely Zikra Mosque.

The Criminal Court verdict stated that, while the contractor was awarded with an additional floor that was not in the original proposal, due to administrative errors, neither the ministry staff nor owners could detect the administrative issue that led to the issue of concern. The Ministry of Finance was also unable to detect the error.

The court had also stated that there were discrepancies in the charges forwarded by the state, with which Bagir and Saeed were acquitted. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) also found that the contract was unfavorable to the state and in turn gave biased benefits to SJ Construction, the contractor.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) sought criminal charges against the former minister back in September 2020, after concluding investigations of accusations against him. While the anti-corruption watchdog had concluded investigations of accusations against Bagir, the ministry’s audit report highlights thousands were retracted as wages for an individual not employed at the ministry, during the previous administration.

Bagir was appointed Islamic Minister during former president Abdulla Yameen’s regime in 2015, following the resignation of his predecessor Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed.