New corruption charges raised against Maldives ex-VP

Former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb has been charged over the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations (MMPRC) corruption scandal .

The Prosecutor General’s Office revealed this on Sunday, noting that seven counts of charges have been raised against the former VP following joint investigations -into the corruption, embezzlement and money laundering carried out through MMPRC fin 2014 and 2015- by the Maldives Police Service, Anti-Corruption Commission and the Presidential Commission on Corruption and Asset Recovery.

The police are to have forwarded the case for prosecution on September 21.

While Adeeb was previously sentenced to eight years over the MMPRC corruption, after being found guilty of embezzling USD five million owed to the state as the acquisition cost of Maabinhuraa in Lhaviyani Atoll, the High Court overturned the lower court ruling in May this year and ordered a retrial. The state has since appealed this at the Supreme Court.

He was serving a 33-year sentence, on various counts, when he was freed by the High Court in May, citing political influence in the cases and ordering retrials.

However, the criminal court dismissed the pending cases noting that it cannot proceed with the cases “without an investigation that is free of influence.”

The former tourism-minister-turned-vice-president is currently serving a three-month and eighteen-day sentence, for his failed attempt to flee from authorities in August.

Adeeb was also a witness in Yameen’s money laundering trial, and admitted to carrying out unlawful activities while tourism minister and vice president, adding that he was following the president’s orders.

Earlier this month, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih revealed that the sum of money stolen through the MMPRC corruption scandal totals to around USD 220 million, more than double of the previously estimated USD 91 million.