Bassam returned to prison following surgery

Bassam Adeel Jaleel has been returned to prison after a brief period under house arrest, following his 32-year sentence for the embezzlement of Football Association of Maldives (FAM) funds to purchase a penthouse at Amin Avenue.

He was transferred to house arrest sometime on Monday.

When questioned by RaajjeMV regarding the matter, an official from the Maldives Correctional Service stated that he had been temporarily transferred to house arrest due to his medical condition. The official further noted that following surgery, Bassam has now been moved back to prison.

The charges filed against Bassam in the case involving the alleged embezzlement and laundering of funds received by the FAM from various international organizations include criminal breach of trust and money laundering.

He was previously sentenced to four years in prison for embezzlement of FAM funds and five years for money laundering. Consequently, with the addition of his latest 23-year sentence, his total prison term now stands at 32 years.

Bassam has been charged with the embezzlement of USD 1.2 million (one million two hundred thousand US dollars) from the Football Association of Maldives (FAM). The funds were allegedly misappropriated to finance the purchase of an apartment from Amin Avenue, a property developed by Amin Construction Pvt Ltd.

Furthermore, an agreement was signed to purchase apartments A1205 and A1206, spanning the 12th and 13th floors of Amin Avenue’s Block A, which comprise eight bedrooms and ten bathrooms. Under this agreement, the total payment of MVR 25,000,000 (twenty-five million rufiyaa), inclusive of GST, booking fees, and commitment fees, was settled by transferring funds from the Football Association of Maldives’ (FAM) dollar account to various companies, which were then paid to Amin Construction Pvt Ltd.