Yameen's lawyer says prosecution failed to link him to Fuhgiri lease deal

Former President Abdulla Yameen's lawyer has argued that the prosecution has failed to present sufficient evidence linking him to the lease of R. Fuhgiri, claiming that the case relies largely on an unverified message whose sender has not been established.

Defence lawyer Hamza Latheef made the remarks on Tuesday while presenting closing arguments in Yameen's bribery and money laundering trial relating to the lease of the island.

Yameen is the only remaining defendant in the case, which initially involved six accused parties.

The former president faces charges of accepting a bribe and money laundering in connection with the lease of Fuhgiri.

The prosecution previously withdrew charges of facilitating bribery and money laundering against Ahmed Krik Riza.

Money laundering charges against Sun Construction and Sun Investment were also dismissed by the lower court. The Prosecutor General's Office subsequently decided not to appeal those rulings.

During his closing submissions, Hamza questioned the prosecution's attempt to link a USD 1.1 million deposit into Yameen's bank account to the Fuhgiri lease agreement.

He said the money was deposited nine months after the island was leased to Classic City Island Holdings for USD 1.55 million.

According to Hamza, the prosecution would need to establish a clear connection between the payment and the lease transaction, given the time between the two events.

He maintained that the state had failed to present evidence establishing such a connection.

Hamza also questioned the prosecution's reliance on statements by former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb, who was implicated in the corruption case.

He said there was no independent evidence supporting Adeeb's allegations against Yameen.

"The prosecution itself acknowledges that these were conversations between Yameen and Adeeb alone, held in places where only the two of them were present. There is no message, telephone recording, independent witness or other documentary evidence linking my client to these conversations," Hamza told the court.

The defence lawyer argued that the only message presented in the investigation as evidence linking Yameen to the Fuhgiri transaction was insufficient to establish his involvement.

The message, purportedly sent under the name "HEP Yameen" to former Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) Managing Director Abdulla Ziyath, asked: "What about the Fuhgiri payment?"

Hamza said the message had not been recovered from a device belonging to Yameen.

He also noted that the screenshot did not display a telephone number, making it impossible, in his view, to establish that Yameen had sent the message.

The lawyer described the message as unverified and argued that it could not be treated as reliable evidence against the former president.

Hamza further questioned the consistency of testimony given by Adeeb and Ziyath.

He said Ziyath had initially stated that he had not consulted Adeeb about the transaction but later told the court that he had consulted him repeatedly.

Hamza also pointed to differing accounts of how those discussions took place, including references to an in-person meeting involving Yameen and a separate telephone conversation.

The defence questioned the reliability of both witnesses, noting that Adeeb and Ziyath had initially denied wrongdoing before pleading guilty after entering into cooperation agreements with the prosecution.

Hamza also argued that the authorities had failed to comply with the Criminal Procedure Code when obtaining their statements because audio and video recordings had not been made.

He maintained that these issues undermined the prosecution's reliance on their testimony.

Addressing the money laundering allegation, Hamza said the defence had submitted documents, receipts and transaction records showing that the USD 1.1 million had originated from a currency exchange transaction.

He said the company involved in the exchange was a subsidiary of a business operating resorts in the Maldives and therefore had a legitimate source of US dollar income.

The defence maintained that the transaction records supported Yameen's explanation of the funds and disputed the prosecution's claim that the money represented proceeds of bribery.

The prosecution has separately presented its closing arguments in the case.

Closing submissions are the final opportunity for the prosecution and defence to summarise their arguments and evidence before the court delivers its judgment.

Judge Ali Nadeem, who is presiding over the trial, said the hearing to deliver the verdict would be scheduled for the morning of 29 October.

Yameen has denied the allegations against him.