Former Maldives Vice President Ahmed Adeeb has testified against both Abdulla Yameen and Central Maafannu MP Ibrahim Rasheed (Bondey).
According to Adeeb, the lease agreement of Raa atoll Fuggiri to Classic City Holding was kept on hold without signing because the former President had not received a commission out of the deal. He also said that the central Maafannu MP was involved in the deal’s discussions.
Adeeb, who is currently serving jail time after getting convicted on multiple charges related to the Maldivian Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) scandal.
He testified against Yameen who is charged accepting a bribe of USD 1.3 million to lease Fuggiri island through MMPRC. The former president is alleged to have used a close ally, Ahmed "Krik" Riza in depositing USD 1.1 million from the bribe total to Yameen’s account through two Sun Group accounts.
Yameen is facing charges of money laundering and accepting bribery.
During Monday’s hearing, Adeeb began his testimony with an introduction and said he was working as as Personal Assistant in Yameen’s political party when his name was considered for the Minister of Tourism, which was around the end of former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration. Adeeb claimed that he was offered the position as compensation to assist Yameen in winning the presidential election.
Adeeb also said that he was appointed as the Vice President while simultaneously managing the Ministry of Tourism, and that it was not common for a VP to be handling ministerial duties before. He said that upon raising this concern with the former President, Yameen had said that Adeeb must head the Ministry.
The former VP said that he was told by Yameen to sell Fuggiri at USD 2.5 million to a party from India who were expected to visit the Maldives. He also testified that during his meeting with the said entourage, he was accompanied by central Maafannu MP Ibrahim Rasheed.
According to Abdulla Ziyath, the instruction to lease the island to the Indian entourage was given by Yameen.
At the meeting, the parties had agreed for the sale of Fuggiri at USD 2.5 million, and the Indian company had extended their Expression of Interest to Maldives government, affirming that the group was ready to pay the agreed amount. Adeeb also said that former Kendhikulhudhoo MP Ali Mauroof, who was aligned with Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), and Ahmed Saalim from the same party, had participated in the meetings as well.
According to the former VP, he learned through former MMPRC Managing Director Abdulla Ziyath that Yameen had instructed "Krik" Riza to talk to the foreign party to reduce the price to USD 400,000, and secure an advance of USD 150,000.
After Ziyath informed this to Adeeb, he had instructed the former MMPRC head to pause the deal and advised to Yameen that the price was too low. According to Adeeb, Yameen had responded that the “other part” will be increased if they quote the initial price lower. When the prosecution inquired what he meant by the “other part”, Adeeb replied that it meant the commission from the deal, which Yameen would receive through Classic City.
According to Adeeb, he questioned Yameen how the money will be brought, to which the former President said that it would be handled by "Krik" Riza and Siyam, of Sun Siyam Group. Adeeb had advised Yameen not to deposit the money into his personal account.
Yameen, who joined Monday’s hearing via online from Maafushi Jail was smiling when Adeeb testified this.
While Adeeb claimed of Rasheed’s involvement, Ziyath who was sentenced to 20 years in jail over the MMPRC graft, said that he did not communicate with anyone other Riza regarding Fuggiri. On the other hand, Yameen, who joined the hearing online asked Ziyath if he communicated with MMPRC regarding the deal regardless of whether he spoke with Rasheed or not.
The lease agreement signing was subject to multiple postponements, and Yameen had instructed Adeeb to await confirmation from "Krik" Riza regarding the agreed signing date. Adeeb mentioned that Riza's confirmation was received only in the afternoon, and subsequently, the agreement was signed later in the day.
Adeeb said that Shuaib Shah's law firm, Shah Hussain and Co’s lawyers represented the foreign company at the signing ceremony.
When Adeeb was questioned about the reason why he contacted the President to lease islands, he responded that the island was leased directly by the President and that all the arrangements regarding the agreement signing were expedited due to the involvement of a reputable law firm.
Adeeb also claimed that despite a policy on leasing islands, President Yameen was leasing islands to his close associates and other investors outside of said policy; which was conducted with the consent and knowledge of Yameen according to the former VP.
At Monday’s hearing, Adeeb also said that he does not stand to benefit from providing testimony to either side on the case, and neither will he benefit from the verdict. He entered an agreement with the state to provide true information about the case to the best of his knowledge, said Adeeb.
The former MMPRC Managing Director Abdulla Ziyath said that he executed the Fuggiri deal according to Adeeb’s instructions, and Riza acted as the broker.
Regarding the Aarah case, Ziyath said that he was informed by Riza not to increase the lease price due to Yameen’s personal involvement in the deal, which he was informed by Adeeb as well.
While he claimed that the Fuggiri deal was initially agreed for USD 400,000, he does not believe the offer letter regarding this was sent to Classic City. After it was informed that the sale price was too low, the price was revised to USD 2.5 million but was reduced to USD 1.55 million, which Ziyath claims was approved by Yameen.
Due to the delays in signing the agreement of Fuggiri’s leasing, he had received a message from Yameen to which he responded affirming that the process will be expedited.
Ziyath also said that the first scheduled signing was postponed after Riza instructed to delay the meeting. He claimed that Riza instructed this delay since he did not receive the commission he was supposed to receive outside of the agreement. Riza instructed to delay the signing until the money was credited to his account.
Following Ziyath’s testimony, the defense’s cross examination lasted for six hours while Adeeb’s testimony alone, lasted 11 hours.
While a hearing on the case was scheduled on Monday and Tuesday, the attorneys tied to the case have requested to schedule hearing on Wednesday as well.
Former President Abdulla Yameen is charged with graft and money laundering while Sun Construction and Engineering Private Limited and Sun Investment Private Limited are charged with money laundering.
At Tuesday’s hearing, the primary evidence was presented by Maldives Police regarding the forensic report on the laptop and mobile phone collected from Abdulla Ziyath.
During Tuesday's hearing, testimonies were collected from two officers of the Maldives Police, and both the prosecution and the defense presented multiple questions. The evidence collection process for the first witness concluded, but due to time constraints, the defense was only able to begin cross-examining the second witness's evidence.
At this point, the presiding judge, Justice Ali Nadheem notified that the trial hour has concluded for the day, and said that the cross examination opportunity will be given to the defense on Wednesday. Riza’s attorney was the only one who requested for cross-examination during Tuesday’s hearing, while the rest agreed for the following day.
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