High Court has upheld the prison convictions of former managing director of the Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation (MMPRC) Abdulla Ziyath,

Ziyath was sentenced over his involvement in the embezzlement of MVR 77 million from MMPRC, along with former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb, and businessman Hamid Ismail.

Adeeb and Ziyath were given eight years in prison while Hamid was given two years and nine months after being found guilty of embezzling USD 5 million paid to MMPRC as the cost of acquisition for Lh. Maabinhuraa island, to be developed as a resort by Kurendhoo Holdings.

State prosecutors said that the cheque did not go to MMPRC after Ziyath accepted it, and that the USD 5 million was deposited to the account of Millennium Capital Management, Hamid’s company, with the help of Adeeb.

On Wednesday, High Court chief judge Shujau Usman, judge Mohamed Niyaz, and judge Ali Sameer ruled that the lower court’s verdict is lawful.