Nothing decided verbally while in office, Yameen tell court
“If the whole case is not properly investigated, the truth will not be known”, Yameen said.
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By
Fathmath Ahmed Shareef
Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom told the High Court on Wednesday that during his tenure as president, nothing was decided by word of mouth and no such instructions were issued to grant permission for the lease of V. Aarah as part of the MMPRC corruption scandal.
Yameen said the then tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb did it, saying it was at the behest of the president.
Yameen was sentenced to 11 years in prison by the Criminal Court on December 25 for accepting a bribe of USD 1 million and money laundering linked to the V. Aarah lease.
When Yameen appealed the sentence in the High Court, the main charge of the prosecution was that he had abused his official position to secure Aarah for the co-defendant in the case, former MP Yusuf Naeem.
At the last hearing in the case, prosecutor Ahmed Shafiu said that Yameen had instructed Adeeb to get the island for Naeem. He said Yameen does not need to go to the tourism ministry and sign an agreement to do so.
In response to these allegations, Yameen said on Wednesday that he had not decided anything verbally while in office and that officials would not go to any state agency with files.
Instead, he said he would send a written memo explaining the issue and writing 1, 2 and 3 suggestions.
"It was prohibited to carry a red pen in the President's Office except the president. I wrote what I thought in red, dated and signed it. The secretariat acted on it," he said.
Explaining the President’s Office’s approach to the relocation of islands, Yameen told the court on Wednesday:
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A lagoon or an island can be designated for tourism purposes by submitting a letter to the President's Office from the tourism ministry; The President's Office did not get such a letter regarding Aarah
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There is no document from the Ministry of Agriculture agreeing or approving the transfer; The case then goes to the Economic and Youth Council (EYC)
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The issues brought to the president are major issues of principle; other cases will be referred to the President's Office
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The answers to the issues or the rule will be written when sent or every letter from the President's Office will be written at the behest of the president
"Therefore, even if the issue of transfer of Aarah is written to the ministry of tourism at the behest of the president, it is not in itself known to the president. This did not happen that way," he said.
The prosecution submitted as evidence in the case a letter sent to the tourism ministry, stating the approval of Aarah's transfer to the tourism ministry "at the behest of the president". Yameen told the court how he believes it happened.
The EYC is chaired by Adeeb, and the EYC is believed to have decided to vacate the island at his behest. Regarding the letter, Yameen said there could be such a letter as the case was not properly investigated by the police. That is because the whole case was based on the help of the police and the state without even verifying the authenticity of the letter.
“If the whole case is not properly investigated, the truth will not be known," he said.
Aarah is a small uninhabited island near V. Thinadhoo. The island was previously given to a company owned by former DRP leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali for agricultural purposes but was taken back to the government in 2015.
Some transactions related to Aarah:
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9 August 2015: Aarah transferred to the tourism ministry
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13 August 2015: Yousuf Naeem forms a company called 2G Pvt Ltd with 99% stake
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A USD 1 million cheque for the island's lease acquisition cost and a separate cheque for USD 1 million to Yusuf Naeem; the money was deposited into Yusuf Naeem's account on August 13,
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August 15, 2015: A cheque for USD 1 million was given to Yameen from Yusuf Naeem's account; two days later, the money was deposited into Yameen's account
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8 September 2015: 99% of 2G Pvt Ltd sold to LA Resorts Pvt Ltd.
