Yameen arrives at Criminal Court to sign statements

Former President Abdulla Yameen arrived at the Criminal Court on Thursday to sign statements relating to the money laundering charges against him. 

Yameen’s lawyer Adam Shameem told the Maldives Independent the trial could go ahead now that the signing of statements had been completed. 

“We have not been given an exact date, but I think the trial will begin soon,” he said. 

Yameen’s former adviser Azima Shakoor was also summoned to court on Monday.

The state’s representative gave the charge sheets to the defence teams. 

Yameen was charged with receiving US$1 million that had been stolen from the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation, which appeared in his personal account at the Maldives Islamic Bank. 

The police also claim that Yameen received an additional $1.4 million from an undisclosed source. He had more than $6.4 million in his bank accounts. 

More than $90 million paid as resort acquisition fees to the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation was embezzled during Yameen’s administration. 

Azima is accused of helping Yameen to launder money.

Moreover, former vice president Ahmed Adheeb and Abdulla Ziyath, the former MMPRC managing director, are also implicated in the corruption scandal.