Malé, Maldives – Former Vice President of the Maldives Ahmed Adeeb has been found guilty of the seven charges pressed against him in connection to the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) embezzlement case and has been sentenced to 20 years with a fine of MVR 2 million.
The seven charges pressed against him were two charges of being an accomplice to embezzlement, two charges of money laundering, two charges of misuse of official capacity to obtain an undue advantage and one charge of abuse of power.
During the hearing held on 30th September Adeeb had confessed to all the charges pressed against him. He also requested leniency under the plea deal he agreed to with the state. Under the plea deal he agreed to he was sentenced to jail for 20 years and fined MVR 2 million. He was ordered to pay the fine within a month.
He was sentenced for each charge as below;
- accomplice to embezzlement — 4 years, 9 months and 2 days
- accomplice to embezzlement — 2 years, 4 months and 24 days
- misuse of official capacity to obtain an undue advantage — 6 months
- abuse of power — 3 months
- money laundering — 5 years, 11 months and 6 days along with a fine of MVR 1 million
- misuse of official capacity to obtain an undue advantage — 1 month and 15 days
- money laundering — 5 years, 11 months and 12 days
Even though Adeeb was held in Malé Jail under the order of the Criminal Court until a verdict was passed, he was transferred to house arrest after taking his health conditions into consideration.
The MMPRC case, which surfaced in 2015, is the largest corruption scandal to rock the Maldives in history. Following initial investigations, the Auditor General’s Office disclosed that MVR 1.2 billion in state funds, acquired via island and lagoon leases, had been embezzled via the corporation, which later increased to MVR 1.4 billion after the investigation by Anti Corruption Commission (ACC).
