Maldives Police Service (MPS) has summoned former President Abdulla Yameen to the police headquarters for further questioning regarding the lease of Aarah, Vaavu Atoll.
Yameen was summoned to police headquarters on August 2 and questioned regarding the embezzlement of 1 million US dollars during the lease of Aarah for resort development during his administration. Yameen was previously summoned to the police headquarters on July 12 to sign documents related to the Aarah case.
On May 2, MPS forwarded charges against Yameen for prosecution over the embezzlement of USD 1 million during the lease of Aarah for resort development.
Aarah, which is an island located near Thinadhoo in Vaavu Atoll, had been leased to a private company when it was taken back and handed over to the 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 Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC).
Former President Yameen is already serving a 5-year prison sentence, after the Criminal Court of the Maldives found him guilty of laundering USD 1 million received as the acquisition cost for the lease of Vodamula, Gaafu Alifu Atoll for resort development through MMPRC. He is also currently under trial for another case of money laundering and accepting USD 1.1 million in bribes for the lease of Fuhgiri, Raa Atoll, for resort development through MMPRC.