The state has requested the Criminal Court to reject the defense evidence submitted by former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom in the case involving alleged corruption in the lease of Vaavu Aarah.
On December 25, 2022, the Criminal Court sentenced the former president to 11 years in prison after finding him guilty of accepting $1.1 million in bribes and laundering the funds during the Aarah lease transaction.
The Criminal Court’s conviction was based on new evidence submitted by the prosecution to rebut the defense's claims. However, upon appeal by Yameen, the High Court ruled that the admission of this new evidence was procedurally flawed and ordered a retrial at the lower court.
The trial had been stalled pending a legal determination regarding the admissibility of the new evidence presented by the state to prove the charges. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the evidence had been admitted improperly.
In his defense, Yameen maintains that the funds in question were obtained through a legitimate currency exchange transaction. To support this claim, the defense has produced several witnesses, including Ahmed Nareesh, Advisor to the Minister of Youth; Mohamed Ismail, Member of Parliament for the Villimalé constituency; Mohamed Shahid, Member of Parliament for the Hulhudhoo constituency; and an individual named Abdulla Rasheed. Additionally, a document verifying the currency exchange was submitted as evidence.
However, the prosecution has moved to block this evidence. The state argues that since Yameen exercised his right to remain silent during the investigation stage, he should not be permitted to introduce evidence that was not disclosed during that period.
The proceedings today focused on the presentation of pre-trial motions and arguments from both the prosecution and the defense regarding these submissions.
