The Supreme Court ruled today that the new evidence submitted by the state to prove money laundering charges against former President Abdulla Yameen in the Vaavu Aarah lease case was accepted improperly.
On December 25, 2022, the Criminal Court sentenced the former president to 11 years in prison after finding him guilty of accepting USD 1.1 million in bribes and laundering those funds during the lease of Vaavu Aarah.
The Criminal Court’s conviction followed the acceptance of new evidence presented by the prosecution to rebut the defense's testimony. However, upon appeal by Yameen’s legal team, the High Court ruled that the acceptance of this new evidence was flawed and ordered a retrial at the lower court.
The Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office appealed to the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the High Court’s decision and validate the admissibility of the new evidence. Today, the Supreme Court bench unanimously ruled that there were no grounds to alter the High Court’s judgment.
The case was presided over by a three-member bench comprising Justice Aisha Shujune Muhammad, who chaired the bench, Justice Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim, and Justice Abdulla Hameed.
Hearings for the retrial currently underway at the Criminal Court had been stayed pending this final judgment from the Supreme Court.
