Verdict in Yameen's bribery and money laundering case postponed

The Criminal Court has postponed its verdict in the bribery and money laundering case against former President Abdulla Yameen over the lease of R. Fuhgiri, after a hearing scheduled for Thursday was not arranged.

The court concluded hearings in the case on 13 October, when presiding Judge Ali Nadeem announced that the verdict would be delivered on 29 October.

However, the hearing has not been scheduled, and a new date for the verdict has yet to be announced.

Hamza Latheef, a member of Yameen's legal team, told Dhauru that although the judge had announced the date for the verdict, the court had not issued summons requiring the parties to attend the hearing.

He said the defence contacted the court on Wednesday and was informed that no hearing had been scheduled for Thursday.

Yameen faces charges of accepting a bribe and money laundering in connection with the lease of Fuhgiri for resort development.

The case initially involved allegations against six parties, but Yameen is now the only defendant facing charges.

The prosecution withdrew bribery facilitation and money laundering charges against businessman Ahmed Krik Riza.

Money laundering charges against Sun Construction and Sun Investment were not proven in the lower court. The Prosecutor General's Office subsequently decided not to appeal those decisions to the High Court.

No action was taken against Classic Holdings, despite the company's involvement in the resort transaction. The resort's shares were later sold to another company, although the ownership of the island itself did not change.

The case concerns the lease of Fuhgiri in Raa Atoll by the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) to Classic City Island Holdings, a UAE-based company, without a competitive bidding process.

The island was leased for USD 1.55 million, with allegations that bribery was involved in the transaction.

Documents disclosed through the Pandora Papers indicated that the company was linked to Indian businessmen with interests in property development and logistics.

According to the leaked documents, Classic City Island Holdings was a partnership involving business interests associated with Indian property developer Avinash Bhosale and Amit Kumar Gandhi, an Indian businessman involved in the logistics sector.

The Criminal Court has yet to announce a revised date for delivering its verdict in the case.