Prosecutor General's Office has raised money laundering charges against former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom.
In a tweet, the Prosecutor General's Office revealed criminal charges have been pressed against former President Yameen on money laundering.
The charges comes in the wake of a statement from Maldives Police Service, accusing the former president of money laundering and giving false statements to mislead an investigation. In the statement, the police also revealed it has found out the person who committed the money laundering scheme deposited a large sum of the money laundered from Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) to a bank account opened under the name of the former president at Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB).
The police service revealed it has requested the Prosecutor General to press charges against former Minister of Legal Affairs at President's Office Aishath Azima Shakoor as well, for being an accessory to money laundering and giving false statements to state authorities to mislead an investigation.
In the statement, the police added it has acquired evidence to support the claim the perpetrators of the crime deposited the money from SOF Private Limited's bank account to a bank account opened under the name of the former president at MIB and therefore, instructed the former president to return the funds to the state, but to no avail. The police stated instead the funds were being rotated and used to generate profit.
The charges come at a time, documents related to the investigation; namely, an investigative report compiled by an international fraud investigation firm upon analysis of data on former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb's mobile phone, were shared by the Attorney General's Office, with the presidential commission investigating the case and the Maldives Police Service.