Thursday
19th Dec 2024
Dhivehi Edition
Former MP Nihan
The Criminal Court today has decided not to proceed with the hearing on six charges against former Villimale’ MP and leader of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) parliamentary group Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik.
Nihan is being charged with three counts of accepting bribes, two counts of requesting bribes, and one count of money laundering. The charges were raised following accusations of requesting bribes from former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb, accepting bribes, and laundering the bribe from Adeeb during his time as an MP.
The state was to present its charges during the online hearing today. However, once the hearing began, Nihan’s lawyer Husnee Mubarak highlighted that the state’s documents were unclear.
Additionally, Mubarak stated that he requires clear and concise documents. Nihan’s defense has previously reported the lack of clarity of the state’s documents in court. The presiding judge notified the state to provide Nihan with hard copies of clear documents within three days. The state agreed three days would suffice.
The next hearing is to be scheduled in the presence of all involved parties. Although today’s hearing was conducted online, Nihan was present in court.
The former MP’s passport has been seized following accusations that he used USD 150,000 from the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) mixed with other funds to purchase an apartment.