High Court of Maldives has nullified the 8-year jail sentence on former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb over the corruption case of Maabinhuraa.
Adeeb was sentenced to 8 years in prison after he was found guilty of corruption in the awarding process of an uninhabited island for resort development via Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC).
Nullifying the initial sentence, High Court had ordered Criminal Court of Maldives to run a retrial on the case. The decision was made unanimously by the judge's bench presiding the case.
The state raised charges against Adeeb claiming the acquisition cost of Maabinhuraa in Lhaviyani Atoll was directly deposited to an account of a private company, with affiliations with Adeeb. The state then mentioned USD 1.5 million and later USD 800,000 were deposited to Monteleone International. Following the decision of Criminal Court, all charges against former vice president has been vindicated.
Previously, on May 27, Supreme Court of Maldives nullified the 10-year jail sentence against Adeeb over the possession of firearm while high court nullified the 15-year jail sentence against Adeeb over the presidential speedboat blast.