Criminal Court of the Maldives has postponed the hearing to be held to deliver the sentence on the 32 charges pressed by the state against former Managing Director of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) Abdulla Ziyath.
The state pressed 32 charges against Ziyath for embezzling state funds acquired from the lease of islands and lagoons for tourism development through MMPRC. Ziyath had pleaded guilty to all 32 charges as part of a plea deal agreement he had signed with the state. The state is seeking an 11-year prison sentence against Ziyath, with leniency granted for cooperating with the investigation and admitting to the charges.
Criminal Court had scheduled the sentencing hearing for 1030hrs on December 6. However, the court announced the hearing has been postponed due to administrative issues.
During the last hearing of the trial, Ziyath had admitted to receiving cheques privately and handing them over to parties specified by former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb. However, Ziyath said he had not received any of the embezzled funds.
While the punishment for each of the charges pressed against Ziyath is a prison sentence of 7 years, state attorneys have explained that the new Penal Code specifies that the punishment for repetitive charges will decrease exponentially if the charges are pressed together.