Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom on Thursday arrived at the Criminal Court.
Supporters of the former president were gathered near the court, with posters calling for his freedom.
Before heading into the court, Yameen shook hands with some of his supporters. Several of his cabiner ministers and members of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and People's National Congress (PNC) were seen near Criminal Court as well.cabinet
Both Traffic Police and Star Force officers are currently operating in the area.
Prior to his arrival, state prosecutors and Yameen's lawyers arrived at Court. The hearing commenced after all the judges in the five-member bench arrived.
The Criminal Court stated that a verdict will be given during the hearing held today.
The state is charging former President Yameen with money laundering over a transaction of USD 1 million made to his account in Maldives Islamic Bank, by SOF Pvt Ltd. SOF is accused of being involved in the embezzlement of MVR 3.3 billion from Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC).
While Yameen had agreed to transfer the USD 1 million to a joint escrow account of Bank of Maldives, which was opened with Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), it later surfaced that the money Yameen transferred to the account was not the USD 1 million he received from SOF. The funds from SOF were instead deposited in a general investment account at MIB.
Although the verdict in Yameen's money laundering trial was scheduled to be announced on November 5, the hearing was delayed following the suspension of Criminal Court's Chief Judge Ahmed Hailam.
Judge Ali Rasheed assumed Hailam's responsibilities following his suspension.
The five-member bench including Judges Ali Rasheed, Ahmed Shakeel, Ali Adam, Hussain Faiz and Mohamed Sameer was formed after this.
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