The Criminal Court has sentenced former Football Association of Maldives (FAM) President Basaam Adeel Jaleel to four years in prison for embezzling funds.
The state pressed two charges against Bassam - fraud and money laundering. He was sentenced today on charges of fraud.
Both charges were filed in connection with the USD 10,000 from FIFA given to FAM, which was deposited into Bassam's bank account in 2018.
FIFA transferred the money to the FAM account in the Bank of Ceylon. Bassam submitted documents and transferred the money to his account in the Bank of Maldives.
USD 9,999 was transferred after deducting bank charges.
The prosecution said USD 1,910 of the USD 9,999 was transferred to someone else's account, then into an account owned by Bassam and his wife, Maureen, at Glacier Investments, which was used for personal purposes. The prosecution also said that the money was used to pay the rent of their Rehendhi apartment.
Meanwhile, a separate money laundering trial began on September 10 in connection with his purchase of a penthouse in Amin Avenue using FAM funds.
Police are also investigating other cases against Bassam.
