Judicial Service Commission (JSC) on Wednesday decided to launch a probe into Criminal Court's Chief Judge Ahmed Hailam after a suspicious transaction between him and former Feydhoo MP Alhan Fahmy was identified.
The judge is already under suspension over posting an image to a Viber group chat of the lower court on Martyr's Day, which depicted President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and former President Mohamed Nasheed, along with the orchestrators of the November 3, 1988 coup, in chains.
According to a statement released by JSC, Maldives Police Service, on Tuesday, notified the judicial watchdog of an MVR 200,000 transaction carried out between the former MP and the judge last May.
Since the matter raises serious concerns, JSC's statement confirmed that the commission decided to investigate the matter.
The statement clarified that Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) informed Police about the transaction during July. However, Police failed to forward the information to JSC until Tuesday.
Therefore, JSC stated that the commission believes Police were negligent in taking appropriate measures regarding the situation and will request the Speaker of Parliament and National Integrity Commission (NIC) to investigate the matter.
Judge Hailam was suspended for a duration which will not exceed 60 days while he had issued a public apology over posting the controversial image.
Hailam was also the Chief Judge in former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom's money laundering trial. The trial's verdict was scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday but was postponed following Hailam's suspension.
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