Sentencing of Mamdhooh postponed to Thursday

The sentencing of Hassan Mamdhooh, (Mandey), who was convicted over the sale of flats at K-Park Residence, has been postponed until tomorrow.

Mamdhooh, a shareholder of Hanbo Company, the developer of K-Park Residence, is charged with 104 offences, including selling the same apartment units to multiple buyers and misappropriating the proceeds for personal use. The charges comprised 50 counts of obtaining illicit benefit through misrepresentation, 50 counts of fraud, three counts of forgery, and one count of money laundering.

At a hearing held on Saturday, the Criminal Court found Mamdhooh guilty on 94 charges. After submissions on sentencing, the hearing was scheduled for today, but Judge Ali Nadheem announced that sentencing would instead take place tomorrow morning.

The prosecution has sought the maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment for the money laundering conviction, along with a fine equivalent to five times the amount laundered.

It also requested full custodial sentences for each of the 50 fraud convictions, and two-thirds of the maximum sentence for each count of obtaining illicit benefit through misrepresentation.

When given the opportunity to address the court on sentencing, Mamdhooh said he had nothing further to add.

The prosecution has also brought 95 charges against Jaishan Saeed, of Raa Atoll Alifushi. Of these, 86 charges were proven, with convictions entered on the remaining counts as well.

Jaishan’s lawyer requested that one-third of the sentence be commuted to house arrest, with the remainder converted into a fine, and that the house arrest portion be served before imprisonment. The request was made on the grounds that Jaishan has a child to care for. The prosecution objected, opposing both house arrest and the imposition of a fine, and rejected any reduction of the custodial sentence.

Police previously raided Mamdhooh’s apartment in Hulhumale', seizing a large number of valuables. The court has since ordered the state to take over the apartment.