High Court accepts appeal case of former Fenaka MD Saeed

The High Court of the Maldives has accepted the appeal of Ahmed Saeed Mohamed (Fenaka Saeed), the former Managing Director of Fenaka Corporation, who was sentenced to four years in prison for corruption. 

Saeed filed the appeal in November 2024 following a ruling by the Criminal Court in September of that year. 

The conviction centers on a 2019 agreement between Fenaka Corporation and Blazon Inc. According to the court, Saeed authorized the release of state funds to the private company before the contracted work was verified or completed. 

While the standard baseline for such an offense is approximately one year and seven months, Chief Judge Adam Mohamed exercised judicial discretion to impose a stricter four-year term.

During the initial sentencing, the judge noted that misappropriation of public funds had become so frequent in state companies that it was being perceived as a common occurrence rather than a crime. He emphasized that the rarity of appropriate penalties for senior officials often encourages further corruption, necessitating the harshest possible sentence. 

In addition to this case, Saeed continues to face trial in the Criminal Court for separate allegations of corruption involving other contracts.