Court case against Adeeb on overdue MVR 1m MMPRC graft fine
Adeeb's lawyer Ali Nadheem is negotiating an installment plan to pay off the dues.
By
Fathmath Ahmed Shareef
Civil Court on Sunday heard a petition filed by the Attorney General's office seeking MVR 1 million in unpaid dues from the MVR 2 million fine imposed on former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb in connection with the MMPRC corruption scandal.
In 2019 and 2020, Adeeb was tried in 15 cases, including those related to the MMPRC scandal and terrorism. In seven of these cases, charges were dropped by the trial court, while he was convicted in eight cases and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
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Of these cases, he was found guilty for two counts of money laundering and was fined MVR 2 million
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He was ordered to pay the amount to MIRA within 1 month
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It has been two years since the deadline expired.
The AG took Adeeb to the Civil Court to recover the MVR 1 million fine for one of the cases.
A hearing in the enforcement case was held on the second day of last month. During the hearing, the judge granted him the opportunity to submit a proposal.
At the outset of the second hearing on Sunday, Judge Farhad Rasheed said the court had received a letter on Wednesday explaining the proposal submitted by Adeeb.
Advocate Saadin Mohammad Rasheed, appearing for the AG's office in the case, said a similar letter was received by the AG from Adeeb as well.
Saadin said Adeeb had sought an opportunity to pay the first MVR 100,000 as commitment and the balance amount by way of MVR 20,000 per month.
For this submission, the state responded:
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MVR 200,000 as commitment amount will have to be paid as 20% of MVR 1 million
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The balance amount will then be paid in 36 months
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Payments can be made on instalments only after the commitment amount has been paid
When contacted, Adeeb's lawyer Ali Nadeem said the AG had not informed him earlier that he would have to pay 20% of the total amount as commitment amount. Therefore, it was requested to allow a fresh proposal as it would require further discussion.
When the judge asked Nadeem what was his view on the state's submission, the defence said:
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That it was an acceptable and good proposal
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However, he will still have to consult with Adeeb before accepting the offer
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He would like to make a fresh proposal after that
Judge Farhad concluded Sunday’s hearing by allowing defence lawyers to discuss the state's proposal with Adeeb and submit a fresh proposal. At the next hearing, the judge asked both parties to be prepared to submit what they agreed to.
Atoll Times contacted the AG's office, attempting to clarify whether Adeeb had paid the other million out of the MVR 2 million due to the state. There was no response.
Adeeb was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2020 and fined MVR 2 million as part of a confession agreement with the state. Under the agreement, the sentence was commuted and he was released to house arrest on the grounds that he was not fit to serve his sentence in prison.
