Court acquits Amin Construction in Bassam apartment case

Criminal Court today dismissed charges against Amin Construction for allegedly facilitating money laundering linked to former Football Association of Maldives (FAM) president Bassam Adeel Jaleel.

Amin Construction has been accused of aiding money laundering in connection with the purchase of two apartments at Amin Avenue in Hulhumale', which Bassam allegedly bought using misappropriated FAM funds.

Delivering the verdict, Judge Mohamed Misbah said it was proven that USD 1.2 million belonging to FAM had been deposited with Amin Construction to be exchanged into Maldivian rufiyaa. The converted cash was then handed over to Hassan Waheed, an FAM employee who is also an accused in the case.

The prosecution argued that Amin Construction prepared cash vouchers showing the money was handed over to FAM, while in reality the funds were not deposited into any FAM bank account. They alleged the money was instead used to pay for Bassam’s apartment.

While Amin Construction did not deny receiving the FAM dollars, the company maintained that the money was handed over and was not used to pay for Bassam’s apartment.

Judge Misbah said there was no evidence to support the prosecution’s claim that the cash given to Hassan Waheed was used to purchase the apartment. He noted that the only basis for the allegation was that the remaining amount owed for the apartment was close to the amount handed over in cash.

“There is no documentary evidence to show that the money deposited with Amin was intended for the purchase of the apartment,” the judge said, adding that no documents proved the alleged funds were paid to Amin Construction for that purpose.

As a result, the court ruled that the charges against Amin Construction were not proven, as it could not be established that the exchanged FAM funds were used to buy the Amin Avenue apartment.

Despite Amin Construction’s acquittal, the court convicted Bassam of fraud and money laundering.

Judge Misbah said it was unclear whether the Maldivian rufiyaa generated from the dollar exchange ever entered any FAM account. He also noted that Bassam had paid for the apartment in cash and had claimed that the money was provided to him by another person.

The court found that the trial proved FAM funds were embezzled by disguising the origin of the money. The judge ruled that the offence of fraud was established and committed with Bassam’s knowledge.

The judge further ruled that Bassam had embezzled FAM funds, falsified the source of the money, and laundered proceeds obtained through criminal activity, thereby proving the money laundering charges.

According to the court, Bassam deposited more than MVR 6 million over a period of 61 days to pay for the apartment. Judge Misbah said such a large amount could ordinarily come from a loan, grant, or business income, but no evidence was presented to show Bassam received money through any legitimate means.

“Therefore, it was Bassam’s responsibility to prove that the money used to purchase the apartment was lawfully obtained, which he failed to do,” the judge said.