The police have asked the Prosecutor General's (PG) office to temporarily withdraw charges against Ahmed 'Krik' Riza in order to analyze an audio recording of an alleged meeting between the defendant and Assistant Commissioner of Police Mohamed Riyaz.
Krik Riza was charged over alleged corruption in the lease of Raa Fuggiri island. Former president Abdulla Yameen and the Sun Investment and Sun Construction and Engineering companies are also on trial along with Riza.
The police sent a letter to the PG office asking for more time to analyze the audio submitted as defense evidence on behalf of Riza, Adhadhu has confirmed.
In the letter, the police asked for the case to be put on hold as more time was needed to analyze the audio. The police noted that the move was allowed by the new criminal procedures law.
Adhadhu has learned that the PG office has since asked the criminal court as requested by the police. The case could only be withdrawn with the criminal court's approval.
Krik Riza's lawyers had asked the court to seal the defense evidence. But the judge at the time rejected the pre-trial motion.
Yameen was charged with money laundering and accepting a bribe over the Fuggiri transaction, which was part of the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) corruption scandal that occurred during his presidency.
Five consecutive hearings in the trial were recently cancelled with Krik Riza not appearing in court due to illness. A medical certificate was obtained from the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital and submitted.
However, Adhadhu has learned that the PG office is trying to take measures as the medical documents were submitted without any tests.
Fuggiri case
According to the prosecution, Yameen used his influence as president to collect USD 1,117,000 as a bribe through Riza and laundered the money through Sun Investment and Sun Construction and Engineering.
Fuggiri was leased through the MMPRC without a bidding process to the Dubai-based Classic Citi Island Holding for USD 1.55 million. While bribery was suspected in the leasing of Fuggiri, the Pandora Papers revealed that influential Indian businessmen were behind the deal.
On May 26, 2016, USD 1.1 million was transferred from an account opened under Riza's name at the Bank of Ceylon to Sun Construction. The money was deposited as an "in-house transfer" on June 7, 2016 to an account opened by Sun Investment at the Bank of India.
On the same day, the money was deposited with an additional USD 800 to an account opened under Yameen's name at the Islamic Bank.
Yameen, Krik Riza and the Sun companies say that the transactions were unrelated to the Fuggiri lease, claiming it was a currency exchange transaction with a Sun company to convert US dollars. Defence witnesses were submitted to prove the claim.
