Judges of the Criminal Court of the Maldives have refuted the legitimacy of a leaked audio where they allegedly admit to being influenced to sentence former President Abdulla Yameen to prison.
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has commenced a probe into the leaked audio, where three judges of the Criminal Court claim they were influenced in issuing the sentence to former President Yameen on money laundering charges. In a statement released on August 30, JSC revealed the commission has already spoken to the three judges regarding the audio, and that all three judges have denied making any such claims. JSC said the judges have denied the legitimacy of the leaked audio.
Furthermore, JSC revealed a request has been made to the Maldives Police Service (MPS) to conduct an analysis on the audio. JSC said all three judges involved in the audio have agreed to provide audio sample for the analysis.
Former President Yameen was sentenced to 5 years in prison in November 2019, after being convicted of laundering USD 1 million embezzled from the state through the lease of an island for resort development. He is also undergoing trial for money laundering and bribery in two other cases.