Maldives Police Service (MPS) has received audio samples from the Criminal Court judges to confirm the veracity of the recent alleged audio leaks.
Recent media reports claimed that an audio leak shows Criminal Court judges that presided over former president Abdulla Yameen's case stating they were influenced in issuing the prison sentence on money laundering charges. MPS was instructed to conduct an analysis of the audio as part of the investigations launched by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
The judicial review body stated it has provided audio samples to MPS with their consent and have taken statements from judges Hussain Faiz Rashad and Ali Adam at the Criminal Court, as well as Judge Mohamed Sameer at the Drug Court. All three judges have denied making any such claims and denied the legitimacy of the leaked audio, stated JSC.
The commission has also taken statements from judges Ali Rasheed Hussain and Ahmed Shakeel, who were also on the Criminal Court bench that presided over Yameen's case. JSC stated that they have also denied the legitimacy of the audio.
The Criminal Court sentenced Yameen to five years in prison in November 2019, after being convicted of laundering USD 1 million embezzled from the state through the lease of an island for resort development.