President Abdulla Yameen has withdrawn his accusation of slander against senior members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
MDP chairperson Hassan Latheef and secretary-general Anas Abdul Sattar were accused of defaming President Yameen by making unproven accusations of theft against him.
The High Court dismissed the case on the basis that the accuser has withdrawn his allegations.
Latheef and Sattar were involved in preparing a report published by the party on reported illicit sale of large quantities of oil facilitated by President Yameen.
MDP had held a press conference to publicize the report after filing a case against the president at the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
The report claims that the ‘Xin Yuan 18’, a vessel implicated in illegal oil trade near the Korean peninsula hoising a Maldivian flag, belongs to the same company as a vessel named ‘Prosperi’, which also used the Maldivian flag in an operated dated 15th January, this year.
MDP claimed that this vessel used the same maritime call sign as ‘Trans Fuel 11’, a vessel operated by a Maldivian company, of which an individual named Mohamed Ziyad is the managing director.
The party says President Yameen had facilitated a loan for Ziyad’s company by personally calling members of the Bank of Maldives’ board of directors.
