Yameen thought bank would hide funds source, state alleges

Former President Abdulla Yameen thought the banks will hide information related to the source of funds in his account, the state said, responding to Yameen's remarks that anyone who wants to launder money will not deposit funds in a bank in Maldives as the banking system in Maldives cannot be deceived.

Yameen was convicted of bribery and money laundering and sentenced to 11 years in jail. The High Court is currently hearing an appeal against the verdict.

The prosecution said on Wednesday that Yameen thought the bank would keep the information confidential. However, the fact that he did not misrepresent the original amount of money circulating in his accounts is not a reason for the dismissal of the charges.

During the hearing in the High Court on the state's claim that he tried to misappropriate the source of money deposited in Yameen's account, Yameen said that the country's banking system cannot be misused. Since money launders are done in 'places where there is a banking secrecy', it is not possible to manipulate the real amount of money given the country's banking system, he said.

In response to Yameen's remarks, Justice Huzaifa Mohammed, who is a member of the High Court bench hearing the case, asked the prosecution's view that the money is being forged for money laundering purposes.

In response, prosecutor Ahmed Shafiu said the UN ODC's Risk of Money Laundering to Financial Instruments report shows that money can be deceived in various ways.

These included:

The fact that the money was in an HSBC account before it was deposited into Yameen's account at the Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) would be considered as depositing the money in a foreign account into a Maldivian account, he said.

"There are such acts that do not negate the fact that there was an attempt to deceive the people. The prosecution of the case is arranged in this way because there was no deception," Shafiu said.

"President Yameen believed that the bank would protect the information. The banks could not keep the information secret because they have been made answerable".

The prosecution's allegations of money laundering: