State’s Case to Enforce Fine on Yameen Dismissed

The Civil Court made a decision to dismiss the civil suit that the state had initiated to retrieve outstanding fines from former Maldivian President and current opposition People’s Party leader, Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom. 

This legal pursuit aimed to recover unpaid fines linked to his money laundering conviction in the V. Aarah case.

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Yameen was handed an 11-year prison sentence alongside a fine of USD 5 million in December 2022. The fine encompassed USD 3.4 million for money laundering and USD 1.6 million for bribery, relating to the sale of V. Aarah for a resort development project.

Following the court’s decision, Yameen was instructed by the Criminal Court to pay USD 3.4 million within six months regarding his money laundering conviction. However, he had not met this payment obligation as per the court order.

The state, represented by the Attorney General’s Office, consequently filed a case in the Civil Court to enforce the payment of the outstanding fines.

During the proceedings presided over by Civil Court Judge Abdulla Ihsaan, the judgment made on Thursday highlighted that the High Court had imposed a stay of execution specifically regarding the payment of the fine. 

Consequently, the court found itself unable to proceed with the state’s pursuit to recover the outstanding payment.

Yameen has lodged appeals against both his conviction and the imposed fine at the High Court. Although he received a stay of execution concerning the fine, this was not extended to his prison sentence. 

Notably, the state opted against appealing the stay of execution related to the fine.

The ongoing appeal hearings at the High Court, regarding both conviction and fine, have encountered delays, leaving the conclusion of the case uncertain.

Yameen’s circumstances took a turn on October 1 when he was transferred from Maafushi Prison to his residence in Male’ City. This relocation followed the victory of the opposition coalition’s presidential candidate, Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, in the Maldivian presidential election. 

The conditions of Yameen’s home confinement were notably relaxed by the Maldives Correctional Service (MCS), enabling his attendance at events held at the People’s Party office.