3 jailed for distributing explicit content, laundering proceeds

The Criminal Court has sentenced three men in a case involving 571 Telegram channels operated through nine accounts to distribute explicit photographs and videos for profit.

The three men — Zubair Ali of Bahaaruge, ADh. Mahibadhoo; Nasif Ali, Dhaftharu No. RS 14751; and Ismail Zabeeh of Silinko, K. Kaashidhoo — were arrested by police in August 2024.

All three pleaded guilty to the charges against them. The Criminal Court sentenced them earlier this month and published the judgments on its website on Thursday.

Zubair was convicted on two counts of possession of pornographic material, one count of distributing pornographic material and one count of money laundering.

He was sentenced to 18 days in prison on one possession charge and nine days on the second. He received a prison sentence of one year and one month for distributing pornographic material.

For money laundering, Zubair was sentenced to two years and six months in prison and fined MVR 600,000.

Nasif was convicted of money laundering and sentenced to two years and six months in prison. The court also imposed a fine of MVR 263,232, representing funds linked to the Telegram operation.

Zabeeh was also sentenced to two years and six months in prison for money laundering and fined MVR 100,000.

According to the case, Zabeeh obtained more than MVR 700,000 by posing as a woman online, communicating with individuals and obtaining money through the deception. The money laundering charge concerned proceeds obtained through the scheme.

Police said at the time of the arrests that the group operated 571 Telegram channels through nine accounts.

According to police figures, the channels contained 241,651 photographs and 86,618 videos depicting Maldivian women in explicit material.

The channels were seized by police as part of the investigation.