Former President Abdulla Yameen has denied any involvement in the lease of Vodamula, Gaafu Alifu Atoll for resort development, despite being found guilty for laundering the money received as acquisition cost for the island through Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC).
Speaking at the appeal hearing at the High Court of the Maldives on July 8, Yameen first claimed he had no knowledge of the island before he was brought to the Criminal Court of the Maldives under allegations of laundering USD 1 million received as acquisition cost for the island. However, later in the hearing, the former president claimed Vodamula was given to two friends of former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb. He did not explain how he knew about the lease of the island to two friends of Adeeb, despite not knowing about the existence of the island before the trial at Criminal Court.
With regards to the USD 1 million which was deposited to his bank account through SOF Private Limited, Yameen said those were funds granted to him by different sources for political activities. He claimed it was part of a USD 5 million grant, adding Adeeb and former Fisheries Minister Dr. Mohamed Shainee had gone to collect the funds.
Furthermore, the former president said he does not believe the investigation against him was launched based on a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) by Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA). Yameen reiterated there is no evidence that the USD 1 million deposited to his account was from MMPRC funds, adding anybody who receives a cheque from SOF cannot be linked with the MMPRC corruption scandal. He also strongly denied any involvement in the lease of Vodamula.
While the former president denied involvement in the lease of Vodamula, Former Managing Director of MMPRC Abdulla Ziyath had testified in court to have received a phone call from Yameen regarding the lease of the island.
The hearings of the appeal against Yameen’s 5-year prison sentence was scheduled to conclude on July 8. However, the High Court has decided to conduct one more hearing after the former president requested for additional time to prepare a response to the state.