Criminal Court Sets Date for Yameen’s Hearing
Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom | Photo: The President’s Office
The Criminal Court has scheduled a hearing for 28 April in the case concerning the lease of R. Fuggiri, one of the cases connected to the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) corruption scandal that occurred during the presidency of Abdulla Yameen.
The case involves multiple charges, including bribery and money laundering against former President Yameen. Sun Construction and Sun Investment are also facing money laundering charges in relation to the lease of the island.
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The upcoming hearing follows a prolonged delay in proceedings. The last hearing was held in August 2023. A session had been listed for August 2024 but was later removed from the court’s schedule. According to the Criminal Court and the Prosecutor General’s Office, the delay was due to difficulties in obtaining testimony from a key prosecution witness, Srita Kumar Thiaga Raja, the finance director at Sun Construction.
During the previously scheduled hearing, the court had made arrangements for the witness to provide remote testimony. However, the session was cancelled after the prosecution informed the court that the witness was overseas. An earlier attempt to obtain the testimony through an online session was dismissed due to poor audio quality. The presiding judge, Ali Nadeem, ruled that unclear virtual testimony was not suitable for use in court proceedings.
Yameen is also facing separate charges of bribery and money laundering in connection with the lease of V. Aarah. In that case, the Criminal Court sentenced him to 11 years in prison, a ruling that barred him from standing in the 2023 presidential election. However, the High Court later overturned the convictions of both Yameen and former MP Yusuf Naeem, ordering a retrial just four days before the parliamentary elections held last year.
