The Supreme Court of the Maldives has called former President Abdulla Yameen’s dealings with the funds deposited to his bank account by SOF Private Limited “unpresidential”.
The Criminal Court of the Maldives had sentenced Yameen to five years in prison on November 28, 2019 after convicting him of laundering USD 1 million received as the acquisition cost of Vodamula, Gaafu Alifu Atoll for resort development through Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC). However, the Supreme Court has overturned the sentence, ruling that the prosecutors have failed to prove that the funds deposited to Yameen's bank account were meant for the state.
Despite overturning the prison sentence, the Supreme Court stated former President Yameen’s dealings with SOF Private Limited, the company which is alleged to have distributed the embezzled funds, were not characteristic of a president of the nation. As such, the Supreme Court said Yameen had invested the funds deposited to his bank account by SOF, despite claiming that he did not even know the company. The court said Yameen had stated he invested the funds believing it had originated from Vice President Ahmed Adeeb, which is unpresidential and reckless.
The Supreme Court further stated Yameen had invested the SOF funds while there was an ongoing investigation into the origin of the funds. The court said Yameen’s dealings with the SOF funds indicated that he put his personal benefit ahead of his responsibility as the leader of the nation.
During an earlier hearing, the former president had claimed he invested the SOF funds “accidentally”. Yameen said he would not have used the funds if any state authority had notified him that the funds were possibly embezzled through MMPRC.