On Thursday evening, Maldives Correctional Service confirmed that former president Abdulla Yaameen Abdul Gayyoom, who is currently serving a five-year prison sentence for money laundering, has been transferred to house arrest.

In a tweet posted on Thursday evening, Corrections detailed that Yaameen had been transferred to house arrest for his safety, as some officers at the Maafushi Prison complex were testing positive for Covid-19. Yaameen is believed to be at a high risk of complications from the Covid-19 infection.

Yaameen was convicted of money-laundering charges on 28th November 2019, for misappropriating US dollars through the state-owned Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) via a private company Scores of Flair, during his presidency. Yaameen was sentenced to five years in prison and fined USD five million to be paid within six months.

Former president Yaameen is the jailed leader of the Maldives' current political opposition, comprised of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and the People's National Congress (PNC). Mayor-elect Dr. Mohamed Muizzu Adnan had recently joined other opposition figures in calling on the state to release Yaameen from prison following his latest victory in the race for Male' City Mayor.

While the Maldives Correctional Service has cited Covid-19 in Maafushi Prison as the reason for having ex-president Yaameen transferred home, he recently received the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, which is reserved for special groups believed to be at greater risk of complications from Covid-19, including patients receiving treatment for cancer and immunocompromised persons, as well as children over the age of 16.

On Wednesday, local media aligned with the opposition had begun reporting that Yaameen had been transferred to house arrest. In addressing the reports, however, Maldives Correctional Service and Spokesperson for the President's Office Mabrook Azeez stated that no decision had yet been made to transfer former president Yaameen to house arrest.