State to put appeal case against ex-VP Adeeb on hold

The government, on Wednesday, informed the Supreme Court that they wished to put the appeal case against former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb on hold.

The state submitted the appeal on June 9, regarding the High Court's decision to overturn Adeeb's eight-year prison sentence over the embezzlement of USD 5 million (MVR 77 million) owed to the state as acquisition costs for Maabinhuraa, Lhaviyani Atoll.

Speaking at the hearing, the government representatives revealed that Adeeb had signed a contract with the state, agreeing to provide cooperation in the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) corruption case.

The state further revealed that the former vice president had entered into a confession agreement, in which the administration agreed not to pursue the Maabinhuraa case any further.

However, the state disclosed that the embezzlement case would be resubmitted to the Supreme Court if Adeeb denied charges filed against him at the Criminal Court.

In response, Chief Judge Dr Ahmed Abdulla Didi stated that it was the mandate of the Prosecutor General to decide whether or not to press charges. He added that the aforementioned case could not be parked and therefore requested the state to make a final decision on the matter and inform the court within a period of two days.

The judge's bench consisted of Chief Judge Dr Ahmed Abdulla Didi, Judge Abdulla Areef and Judge Abdul Ghani.

Although the Supreme Court imposed a travel ban on Adeeb until the conclusion of the Maabinhuraa case, the ex-VP had attempted to flee aboard a Singapore-flagged tug boat, posing as a crew-member, on July 27. He was intercepted by Indian authorities and extradited on August 4.

The Criminal Court has sentenced Adeeb to three months and 18 days of imprisonment over his escape attempt.