The criminal court on Sunday ordered the prosecution to hand over investigation files in the trial of former Vilimale' MP Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik over the the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) corruption scandal.
At a hearing held Sunday for both sides to deliver opening statements, the judge decided to begin the trial after the files are shared with the defendant, who is facing charges of money laundering as well as two counts of accepting bribes and two counts of soliciting bribes.
The opening statement is delivered to begin the trial. The statement mainly takes note of each side's strategy for the trial.
But at the start of today's hearing, Nihan's defence lawyer Husni Mubarak asked for the investigation files in accordance with a recent decision by the Supreme Court, which ruled that the documents must be disclosed to the defence.
The Supreme Court ordered the disclosure of investigation files in relation to charges raised against former president Abdulla Yameen in the MMPRC corruption scandal. The Supreme Court ruling came after the trial began and opening statements had been delivered.
As opening statements had not been heard yet, Nihan's lawyer Husni asked the judge to begin the trial after allowing the defence to examine the investigation files. But the state prosecutor Eana Moosa said the requirement to disclose the files was not an obstacle to delivering opening statements.
The judge decided to hold a separate hearing after seeking the investigation files from the state. The administrative desk would inform the parties of a date later, the judge said.
Prosecutor Eana Moosa requested the hearing to be held on a Saturday instead of a weekday. Defence lawyer Husni also made the same request.
The charges
Nihan is accused of accepting bribes in exchange for specific actions in his capacity as an MP as well as the majority leader of parliament and chair of parliament's public accounts committee.
According to a statement released by the Prosecutor General's (PG) office after raising charges, Nihan solicited and accepted bribes from former vice president Ahmed Adeeb while the former was MP for Vilimale' and chair of the public accounts committee.
Nihan did not disclose any of the money he received in the financial statements he submitted between 2014 and 2019, the PG office noted.
The charges state that Nihan kept a report prepared by the Audit Office about the corruption that occurred within the MMPRC and private companies out of the public accounts committee's agenda. He did so on the instructions of then-tourism minister Ahmed Adeeb, the chief architect of the MMPRC embezzlement scheme, according to the charges.
In exchange, Nihan obtained USD 150,000 from Adeeb. He was charged with accepting a bribe in relation to the alleged transaction.
The funds were deposited from an SOF account to an account opened by Nihan's brother Mohamed Inan at the Ceylon Bank. After the money was transferred to an account under J Hotels at Habeeb Bank, Nihan spent MVR 1.9 million from the account to pay for a Platinum apartment.
He was charged with money laundering over the alleged attempt to hide the source of the funds.
In the bribery charges, Nihan was accused of asking Adeeb for a Rolex watch in connection with votes to appoint a prosecutor general and an MP to the Judicial Service Commission.
On the other counts of accepting and soliciting bribes, Nihan was accused of taking MVR 600,000 from Adeeb in his capacity as an MP.
Nihan pleaded not guilty to the charges. He has been barred from traveling overseas until the conclusion of the trial.
