The hearing scheduled against former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom over the sale of Aarah, Vaavu Atoll, for resort development has been cancelled due to Chief Judge Ahmed Shakeel being on leave.
The Criminal Court of the Maldives did not detail when a hearing will be scheduled again. The hearing was scheduled to take testimonies from key witnesses, former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb and former Managing Director of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) Abdulla Ziyath. The court previously accepted a motion by the defence to have both Ziyath and Adeeb testify on the same day.
The state has pressed charges of money laundering and accepting bribes against former President Yameen in relation to the lease of Aarah for resort development through MMPRC. The prosecution has submitted a total of 13 pieces of evidence in the case, while the defendant has submitted seven pieces of evidence. Some of the evidence submitted by former President Yameen include documents on the communications between him and former Parliamentarian Yoosuf Naeem, who has been charged with bribery in the case. Other documents submitted by the defence include a statement by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and some documents from the President’s Office.
Aarah had been leased to a private company when it was taken back and handed over to Felidhoo Island Council in 2015. The island was later handed over to a company called 2G Maldives, before leasing the island again to a foreign company. The embezzlement of funds acquired from the lease of Aarah was uncovered during the investigation of the corruption scandal of MMPRC.