Judges at the Supreme Court of the Maldives overseeing the appeal of the prison sentence imposed on former President Abdulla Yameen over money laundering charges has questioned the state on the inconsistencies found in the cheque numbers documented in the case.
Yameen was sentenced by the Criminal Court of the Maldives to 5 years in prison after he was found guilty of laundering USD 1 million received through the lease of Vodamula, Gaafu Alifu Atoll for tourism development. The hearings of the appeal trial was concluded at the Supreme Court in October, but the judges decided to conduct another hearing after finding an inconsistency in the cheque numbers documented in the case.
The Supreme Court judges overseeing the appeal noted the cheque number provided at the deposit slip for the laundered USD 1 million does not match with the cheque number provided at the SOF account statement. The judges questioned the state attorneys on why there is such a difference.
In response, the state attorneys attributed the inconsistency to an error while entering the bank statement. The state attorneys said the matter was immediately clarified upon detection of the issue, adding the bank had also confirmed that the cheque number entered on the account statement was erroneous.
The judges concluded the hearing on November 18 after stating they are working on issuing a verdict on the case before the court goes to recess next month.