Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom has plead not guilty to charges pressed against him in relation to the R. Fuhgiri corruption case at Criminal Court, on Sunday.

Yameen is being charged with money laundering, in addition to accepting bribes while in public office in relation to the leasing of R. Fuhgiri for resort development in the MMPRC scandal. The charges detail that Yameen acquired $1,117,000 in bribes for leasing R. Fuhgiri, and that he had employed Krik Riza to help funnel the money through Sun Construction & Engineering Pvt. Ltd. and Sun Investments Pvt. Ltd. to launder the funds.

Representing Yameen at his plea hearing for this case, his legal counsel Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed announced that Yameen would plead not guilty to the charges being raised against him.

Dr. Jameel went on to say that the charges against Yameen were based on baseless accusations, and that some parties were using MMPRC investigations to as a ruse to target Yameen personally. Dr. Jameel added that Yameen was already serving a five-year sentence in relation to the MMPRC corruption scandal, and that none of the additional charges being raised against Yameen involved new allegations of any substance.

Criminal Court Judge Ahmed Shakeel, who presided over the plea hearing, announced that as Yameen had plead not guilty to both charges, the court would now be accepting the admittance of evidence and witness statements in the next hearing, which is scheduled to be held on 8 February. However, Yameen and his legal team requested additional time, which Judge Shakeel chose to grant. Judge Shakeel concluded that the hearing would take place within the first 10 days of February before ending the session.

Yameen is already serving a five-year prison sentence in relation to the MMPRC Corruption scandal; he was convicted of money laundering after having embezzled and transferred to his personal account, USD one million from the acquisition cost reserved for the state in the leasing and development of GA. Vodumulaa as a resort.