Maldives ex-VP jailed for 20 years

Maldives former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after having been found guilty of the seven counts of charges in connection to the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) embezzlement case.

The Criminal Court held the sentencing hearing at 6pm Monday, where Adeeb was also slapped with a fine totaling MVR two million.

The former VP has been given a period of one month to pay up the fine.

Given that Adeeb had pleaded guilty, the state prosecutor had urged to fast-track the verdict despite the court having initially scheduled a verdict hearing for October 12.

During a preliminary hearing held last Wednesday, the former VP had pleaded guilty to the seven charges raised against him.

The seven charges raised against Adeeb are two counts of involvement in corruption, two counts of using his position to gain undue benefits, two charges of money-laundering as well as an abuse of power charge.

Reflecting on his health as well as cooperation in the investigations into the MMPRC corruption scandal, Adeeb also requested the judges to provide leniency to his sentencing during the arraignment hearing.

Adeeb had signed a plea deal with the state in return for full cooperation in the MMPRC graft case and the Criminal Court in mid-July dropped the charges on the grounds that a plea deal signed was “entered wrongfully”. State prosecutors then asked the court to review the decision.

During a preliminary hearing on September 30, Adeeb had repeatedly noted that he had willingly confessed, following questions posed by the presiding judge, Hassan Saeed. Following this, the fast-track verdict hearing was held on Monday.

Speaking during an earlier hearing held on Monday morning, Adeeb noted that he had detailed names of those who received the embezzled funds as well as assets formed by them, along with a numerous statements and evidence to the investigative team.