Criminal Court dismisses charges against former VP Jihad

The Criminal Court of Maldives today dismissed the charges raised by the State against former Vice President of the country Abdulla Jihad.

Prosecutors charged the Jihad, who now serves as the Chairperson of Maldives International Finance Service Authority (MIFSA), in 2013 over the signing of the Fushidhiggarufalhu agreement back when Jihad was a Finance Minister.

The charge against him was acting otherwise in a matter which would have benefited the state. It was detailed that the agreement was signed despite it stating that the Maldivian government had a 25 percent stake in the joint venture company which was set up by the state and a foreign company to develop Fushidhiggarufalhu.

The Criminal Court ruled that the case cannot move forward after reviewing it from a civil standard, considering the legal mistakes made in the investigation process.

The ruling further said that the Asset Recovery Commission put together during the previous government investigated the same case after it was already investigated by the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), but that the reason for this second investigation was not disclosed.

The court also said that former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb's statement was considered during the investigation phase, and pointed out that Adeeb's statements can be deemed doubtful, but that the Asset Recovery Commission failed to verify the authenticity of his claims.

Judge Hussain Faiz Rashad's decision on the matter details that since there are indicators which suggest the investigation of the case was not carried out fairly, the charges raised based off on such investigations would also be affected. As such, he ruled that the case cannot move forward in the court.

Prosecutors previously also sued Jihad for MVR 1.1 million claiming that he failed to vacate the apartment allocated for him as his official residence during his time as Vice President. However, the case was withdrawn later in January.