Criminal Court of Maldives has cancelled the hearing scheduled to announce a verdict on the money laundering case against former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom.
The hearing was cancelled following the suspension of Chief Judge of Criminal Court Ahmed Hailam who is presiding over the case. Hailam was suspended until the completion of the investigation to the disciplinary case filed against him.
Judicial Service Commission (JSC) suspended him over his controversial Victory Day greeting illustration sent to Criminal Court Recreation Club Viber group which depicted President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed in chains with the perpetrators of the November 3, 1988 coup attempt.
Prosecutor General's Office pressed criminal charges against Yameen on money laundering, in the wake of a statement from Maldives Police Service, accusing the former president of money laundering and giving false statements to mislead an investigation.
The police revealed it has found out the person who committed the money laundering scheme by depositing a large sum of the money laundered from MMPRC to a bank account opened under the name of the former president at Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB).
The state said Yameen had transferred an unrelated USD 1 million to an escrow account opened at Bank of Maldives (BML) under an agreement he signed with Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) after fabricating that it was the same USD 1 million which was transferred to his dollar account by SOF Private Limited.
However, the state revealed the funds deposited to an escrow account were from a close ally of Yameen, former Tourism Minister Moosa Zameer. The state has accused Yameen had kept the USD 1 million in a saving account and had generated profits.
If found guilty, the former president faces a jail sentence between 5-10 years in addition to a hefty fine.