Criminal Court schedules Yameen's Fuggiri hearing on April 28

The Criminal Court has scheduled a hearing for 28 April in the case concerning the lease of R. Fuggiri, one of the cases linked to the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) corruption scandal during the administration of former President Abdulla Yameen.

The case includes charges against former President Abdulla Yameen for bribery and money laundering. Sun Construction and Sun Investment are also facing charges of money laundering in connection with the lease.

Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, Yameen’s chief legal counsel and the first vice president under his administration, confirmed the date of the next hearing to Atoll Times.

The last hearing in the case was held in August 2023. A hearing had been scheduled for August 2024 but was later removed from the court’s schedule.

According to the Criminal Court and the Prosecutor General’s Office, the case had been delayed due to difficulties in obtaining the testimony of a key prosecution witness. The individual is identified as Srita Kumar Thiaga Raja, finance director at Sun Construction.

In the previously scheduled hearing, the court had arranged for the witness to testify remotely, but the session was cancelled after the prosecution informed the court that the witness was overseas. An earlier attempt to record testimony online was not accepted due to issues with audio clarity. Judge Ali Nadeem ruled that it was not appropriate to rely on unclear virtual testimony.

In addition to the Fuggiri lease case, Yameen is also facing charges of accepting bribes and laundering money in relation to the lease of another island, V. Aarah. The Criminal Court had sentenced him to 11 years in prison in that case, which barred him from contesting the 2023 presidential election.

However, the High Court later overturned the convictions of both Yameen and former MP Yusuf Naeem. The court ordered a retrial in the Criminal Court just four days ahead of the parliamentary elections held last year.