Prosecutor General's Office has decided to seek a review of the High Court's decision not to hear the case against former Vice President Abdulla Jihad.
Prosecutor General's Office has decided to seek a review of the High Court's decision not to hear the case against former Vice President Abdulla Jihad.
High Court has twice dismissed the prosecution's appeal regarding the Criminal Court's decision not to prosecute Jihad.
The case was previously dismissed because the court could not summon Jihad due his address being unclear. The issue arose when Jihad was not found at the address provided to the court by the Prosecutor General's Office.
As a result, High Court allowed the Prosecutor General's Office to resubmit the case once Jihad could be summoned. The prosecution filed the case again on October 15. However, the High Court registrar decided not to accept the case as the deadline for resubmission had expired on October 12..
The Prosecutor General's Office has said that it would appeal the registrar's decision for a review.
Jihad, who is currently Chairperson of the Maldives International Financial Service Authority (MIFSA), faced charges related to the signing of the Fushidhiggaru Falhu agreement in 2013, when he was the Minister of Finance. The charges were for entering into a joint venture agreement with a foreign company to develop Fushidhiggaru Falhu, which granted the government only a 25 percent stake, against the Maldives government's advice.
Despite accusations that Jihad acted in a way that did not benefit the state, the Criminal Court ruled earlier that the case could not proceed due to mistakes made during the investigation.
The Prosecutor General's Office stated that it appealed the case to the High Court because the Criminal Court’s decision lacked a clear basis and did not provide adequate reasoning. As a result, the prosecution requested that the High Court order a retrial of the case in the lower court.
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