The state is seeking a court order to keep former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb in custody, until the appeal case at Supreme Court concludes.

While the High Court overturned an eight-year conviction against Adeeb in May, after being found guilty of embezzling funds owed to the state as the acquisition cost of Maabinhuraa in Lhaviyani atoll into his personal account, the state appealed the decision at the country’s top court in June.

The appeal case filed at the Supreme Court also sought to arrest and remand him, as well as to withhold Adeeb’s passport; while the court had only issued an order to withhold his passport, the court has since said that it did not issue an arrest warrant as Adeeb was serving a sentence at the time of request and that no other case filed after the completion of this sentence.

The order to withhold Adeeb’s passport was issued while he was in India after being granted medical leave. While he returned to the country on July 7, he was caught while attempting to flee from authorities on August 1. He was returned to the country on Sunday, and has been issued a 15-day remand.

The first hearing in the state’s appeal case was held on Tuesday morning, where the state reiterated its request to remand him for the duration of the trial “as he is a flight risk.”

Noting that the state is aware that Adeeb is currently on remand as well, prosecutors said that the Criminal or High Court can change this at any time and emphasized that the state is seeking to keep him in remand for the duration of the trial.

The state’s attorney also highlighted the importance of the top court issuing verdict in the matter, given that Adeeb has violated its previous ruling that bans him from leaving the country.

The former VP represented himself at Tuesday’s hearing, and noted that he is already under remand custody. He claimed that there is no point to issuing an additional remand order.

Adeeb added that the only reason he tried to leave the country was because of threats to his life; he said that he started receiving these threats after he began cooperating with the police and presidential commission, regarding the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) embezzlement.

Adeeb said that he has been cooperating with authorities “through different means” including phone calls, text messages and e-mails, and that those involved in this “are very senior government officials.”

Further noting that the Maabinhuraa case is of the many MMPRC cases, Adeeb said that authorities are yet to conclude investigations into this and that his previous conviction was politically motivated. Adeeb also highlighted that he has been cooperating with authorities, under an agreement, to complete the investigation.

However, the state said that the agreement between Adeeb and the state “does not mention the Maabinhuraa case,” adding that the fact that his ally and MMPRC’s former managing director Abudlla Ziyath’s conviction, and High Court’s decision to uphold it, proves that the Maabinhuraa investigation has concluded.

While Adeeb represented himself at the hearing, he asked to be given one day to discuss the matter with a legal team.

However, the state objected to this and asked for an immediate remand order, adding that his legal team review it later.

Chief Justice Ahmed Abdulla said that the court will reach a decision on Adeeb’s remand, after deliberations.

Tuesday’s hearing concluded after giving Adeeb seven days to appoint a lawyer, and to respond to the allegations.