6 October 2020
A Maldives criminal court on Monday sentenced former vice president Ahmed Adeeb, to 20 years in jail and fined him $129,892 after he pleaded guilty to seven corruption charges. He was given of one month to pay up the fine.
Although he was sentence to 20 years, he will serve 19 years as the jail term is reduced by the length of time he already spent under state custody.
He was formerly sentenced to 33 years in prison over three different cases, but the High Court and Supreme Court had later overturned the sentences.
He was charged with embezzlement, money laundering and misuse of government authority. The charges relate to leasing of islands for tourist resort hotels development.
According to the recently formed asset recovery commission the islands were sold below-market prices. As a result, the government lost nearly $259 million.
It was also found that nearly $80m missing from Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) due to embezzlement. He was serving as the Minister of Tourism at the time.
Adeeb in his plea bargain, said he was ready to cooperate with the authorities to recover the missing money. He had had detailed names of those who received the embezzled funds as well as assets formed by them, along with a numerous statements and evidence to the investigative team. as well as assets formed by them, along with numerous statements and evidence to the investigative team.
Last year, he was arrested after he fled Maldives and sought asylum in India. He was also implicated in the mysterious blast on then-President Abdulla Yameen’s speedboat. Yameen escaped the explosion but his wife and two aides were injured.
Yameen was sentenced to five years in prison for money laundering.
Aljazeera reported.
