Former immigration controller Sham'aan said no illegal orders would be given: head of intelligence

Mohamed Shifan, Head of the Immigration Intelligence Department, today told the Criminal Court that former Controller of Immigration Mohamed Sham'aan Waheed had instructed that no illegal directive could be given to any Immigration officer.

Sham'aan was dismissed from his post and arrested in March of this year in connection with allegations that he orchestrated the release of a foreigner held in Immigration custody, and subsequently received MVR 500,000 at his residence, working with several Immigration staff.

Prosecution has filed charges against Sham'aan for Misuse of Official Authority, Extortion, and Money Laundering. The court had previously ordered him to be held in custody until the conclusion of the trial.

During today's hearing at the Criminal Court, Deputy Chief Immigration Officer Mohamed Shifan, Head of the Immigration Intelligence Department, provided testimony. He detailed how the operation involving the foreigner in question was conducted.

Shifan stated that the operation was carried out according to all procedures and under the direct instruction of the then-Controller, Sham'aan. Shifan testified that the orders he received from Sham'aan regarding the operation were all compliant with regulations.

Shifan recounted that after the incident, he received an illegal instruction from an Immigration Officer, Ahmed Lahssaan, who has close ties to Sham'aan and was also arrested in connection with this case, and asking him not to conduct a specific raid and claiming that it was their work.

Shifan stated that when he shared this incident with Sham'aan, the Controller instructed that no officer is allowed to issue unlawful directives.

Sham'aan also questioned Shifan in court today, clarifying the advice Shifan had given him regarding the detained foreigners during the operation. Shifan stated that the foreigners detained during that night’s operation had valid visas. When Sham'aan asked if they could be kept in custody in that situation, Shifan testified today that they could not be kept in custody unless they committed an additional crime.

However, prosecution alleges that the foreigners were released upon Sham'aan's order.

Further hearings have been scheduled to take additional testimonies in this case.

The Prosecutor General's Office has filed charges against Sham'aan for instructing the release of a foreigner from Immigration custody and subsequently taking MVR 500,000 from them under threat of further restrictive measures.

It is alleged that Sham'aan received MVR 400,000 of the extorted money on March 13, 2025, and used part of it to pay off two student loans at the Bank of Maldives.

Additional charges were filed against Ahmed Lahssaan, Ahmed Shaheshaan, Ibrahim Ahmed, and Ahmed Alsan Ismail. Lahssaan and Alsan entered into plea agreements, with Alsan receiving a sentence of two months and three days in prison along with a fine of MVR 45,000.