Ali Waheed claimed to have departed Maldives a day before passport release order

Former Minister of Tourism Ali Waheed departed Maldives a day before his passport was released.

The Criminal Court released the ex-minister’s passport on February 9 on the grounds that he required medical attention from abroad.

Although it was earlier reported that Waheed departed to the United Kingdom the very same evening, documents received by the Prosecutor General’s Office indicate that the court order was issued on February 10.

Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem has since confirmed that they received the documents on February 11, noting that they will confirm an exact date Waheed departed from the Maldives, through the Maldives Immigration.

Sources have since reported to RaajjeMV that Waheed departed before the court order was issued, approximately at around 11:30pm on February 9.

RaajjeMV understands that the ex-minister’s first destination was Istanbul, Turkey.

This has paved way for questions regarding the legality of Waheed’s departure, before his passport was released.

On Sunday, the High Court had rejected the appeal submitted by PG Office regarding the release of Waheed’s passport, citing that the appeal was submitted 48 hours after the order to release Waheed’s passport was issued. PG Office appealed the case at High Court on February 14.

The court noted that a seven-day period will be required to appeal the case after the Registrar’s ruling.

PG Office has also assured that legal action will be pursued against the guarantor responsible for Waheed’s departure. State Minister for Youth and Sports Assad Ali, a close associate of the former minister signed on as Waheed’s guarantor.

This comes at a time the PG Office has stated that Waheed may be considered a serious flight-risk as he had previously fled the country to evade a trial as well.

Seven charges were raised against the disgraced ex-minister during November 2020, including one count of attempted rape, one count of sexual abuse, one count of indecent exposure, one count of sexual harassment and one count of attempted sexual harassment. He is also charged with two counts of solicitation of sexual favors.

Waheed is accused of sexually assaulting ministry employees during resorts trips, Waheed is also accused to sexually harassing ruling coalition partner, Jumhooree Party (JP) member and Transport Minister Aishath Nahula. JP council proposed to dismiss Ali Waheed as the party’s leader in July.

Following the allegations against him, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ordered Waheed to resign and consecutively stripped him from the ministerial post after he failed to forward a resignation letter.

The PG Office forwarded the charges against Waheed to the Criminal Court on 18 November 2020.

The case was forwarded for prosecution by the Maldives Police Service, on October 7 last year. According to the police, statements were obtained from 15 individuals against Waheed, in connection to the case.

After the case surfaced, police officers conducted a search and seizure operation at the former minister’s residence during which his phone and laptop were seized, alongside withholding his passport.

Speaking to media outside of the police headquarters after being summoned for questioning last year, Waheed had said that the sexual assault allegations against him were “politically motivated”, stressing that the truth will be exposed once the investigations were completed and that justice "must be served".