News Desk
Former President Abdulla Yameen was brought to court today for a hearing in the V. Aarah graft trial, marking his first appearance in court for either of his two ongoing graft cases in over a year.
The Criminal Court hearing focuses on bribery and money laundering charges against Yameen alongside former Majlis MP Yoosuf Naeem, relating to the lease of V. Aarah through the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC). Today’s session was scheduled to address pre-trial motions, with proceedings prepared for virtual media access.
Hearings in the V. Aarah case were paused at the Criminal Court while the state appealed a High Court decision to the Supreme Court. The High Court had rejected new state evidence introduced during the retrial, and the Supreme Court affirmed that ruling in July, barring the evidence from being used.
The excluded state evidence includes attendance records from the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) for Ahmed Nareesh, currently an advisor to the Youth Minister, and minutes from meetings of the Economic Youth Council, a cabinet committee at the time.
Nareesh previously testified that he personally delivered cash in Maldivian Rufiyaa to former MP Yoosuf Naeem after a currency exchange. While the lower court initially dismissed his testimony as untrue, the High Court subsequently quashed that original verdict.
Prosecutors allege Yameen took a USD 1 million bribe deposited into his personal bank account in exchange for facilitating the lease of V. Aarah.
Yameen also faces separate charges over the lease of R. Fuggiri through the MMPRC, where he remains the sole defendant.
