Three Sentenced to Prison for Extortion Scheme in Malé

Three individuals have been sentenced to one year and three months in prison for luring victims into a residence in Malé, where they were stripped and extorted for money.

The charges were brought against Aishath and Mohamed Reehan, both from Ma. Masfan, and Shafeeq Ibrahim from Soma, Seenu Hithadhoo. The trio admitted in the Criminal Court to luring a man into the Ma. Masfan property, stripping him, and coercing him into revealing the PIN of his cash card, which they then used to steal money.

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The criminal court issued its ruling on wednesday finding them guily of obtaining information through unlawful means, assault, and extortion. For extortion, each received a sentence of nine months and 18 days. The assault charge added two months and 12 days, while obtaining information unlawfully resulted in a further sentence of four months and 24 days, totalling one year and three months for each individual.

According to the court’s ruling, the three defendants threatened the victim, transferring MVR 20,000 from his account to another and withdrawing an additional MVR 25,000 from an ATM using his card.

Police previously stated that the residence in question had been linked to multiple incidents where victims were lured and threatened.