Criminal Court of Maldives has delivered legal paperwork to former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom and former Minister of Legal Affairs Aishath Azima Shakoor, in relation to the money laundering charges raised by the Prosecutor General's Office.
Prosecutor General's Office pressed criminal charges against former President Yameen on money laundering, in the wake of a statement from Maldives Police Service, accusing the former president of money laundering and giving false statements to mislead an investigation.
In the statement, the police also revealed it has found out the person who committed the money laundering scheme deposited a large sum of the money laundered from MMPRC to a bank account opened under the name of the former president at Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB).
The state said Yameen had transferred an unrelated USD 1 million to an escrow account opened at BML under an agreement he signed with ACC after fabricating that it was the same USD 1 million which was transferred to his dollar account by SOF Private Limited. However, the state revealed the funds deposited to an escrow account were from a close ally of Yameen, former Tourism Minister Moosa Zameer.
Previously, the Criminal Court ruled to keep Yameen in custody until the end of trail, which was overruled by High Court of Maldives.
Furthermore, Yameen's bank accounts were also frozen awaiting a verdict in the money laundering charges pressed against him. However, the High Court had overturned the ruling issued by Criminal Court.
Meanwhile, Prosecutor General's Office raised criminal charges against Azima Shakoor for being an accessory to money laundering and providing false information to state authorities. She represented the former president during the money laundering investigations.