Wednesday
18th Dec 2024
Dhivehi Edition
PG Hussein Shameem.
The Prosecutor General's Office has confirmed that it has pressed two charges of money-laundering and bribery against former President Yameen Abdul Gayyoom. The charges are related to the sum of USD$1 million that had been received from the leasing of Aarah (Vaavu atoll).
The State is accusing the former President of abusing his position to receive USD$1 million in bribes and of laundering the money.
The State had previously charged the former President with similar accusations with relations to a different case. At that time, the State had accused the former President, Ahmed "Kurik" Riza, and two companies of the Sun Group.
All of the investigation had been conducted by the Maldives Police Service, and the former President Yameen denies all the charges.
The former President is currently serving a five-year prison sentence following a 2019 Criminal Court verdict which found him guilty of money-laundering. He has since appealed his verdict to the Supreme Court, and a verdict is forthcoming.
The opposition believe that the State continues to mount charges against the former President in order to bar him from running in the 2023 presidential elections.