The Maldives High Court has accepted former President Abdulla Yameen's appeal request for his money-laundering conviction.

The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) announced that the party has submitted an appeal request on behalf of the former president on November 30th.

Speaking to RaajjeMV, a media official of the High Court confirmed that the court accepted Yameen's appeal request on Tuesday.

Since the high court is currently in recess, the earliest appeal hearing can only be held in January next year.

Despite the High Court accepting Yameen's appeal request, the chief judge of the High Court, Shujau Usman, has an ongoing disciplinary investigation against him by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). As such, Shujau had issued a summon to immediately release the former president from detention before the Criminal Court held hearings for Yameen's money laundering trial.

Likewise, Shujau had inserted himself onto the bench presiding over Yameen's appeal against the Criminal Court's detention order. He had also previously issued an order to un-freeze Yameen’s bank accounts as well.

Former President Yameen was convicted of money-laundering charges on November 28th. He was sentenced to five years in prison and fined USD five million. His sentence also states that the fine must be paid within six months to the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA).

According to the verdict issued by the Criminal Court, the charges against Yameen were confirmed based on the evidence presented against him by the prosecution and witness statements. All five presiding judges over the trial unanimously agreed on the guilty verdict.