Yameen's USD 1 million case appeal hearings completed

High Court has, for the second time, completed appeal hearings in the case where former President Abdulla Yameen is seeking to recover USD 1 million kept in the escrow account made with Anti Corruption Commission (ACC). 

USD 1 million which was deposited in Yameen's account in 2018 was transferred to an escrow account opened by the ACC and Yameen at Bank of Maldives (BML) until the ACC completed its investigation into the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) corruption. As the funds have not been released, Yameen lodged a case at the Civil Court against ACC and BML. 

The bank argued at the Civil Court that the case was inadmissible against it, but the court dismissed the claim. The bank then appealed this ruling, and sought to halt the Civil Court proceedings until the appeal was completed. The High Court granted this request. 

Previously, this appeal case was being heard by former High Court Chief Judge Hussain Shaheed, Judge Dheebanaz Fahmy and Judge Fathimath Faruheeza. However, after the hearings were already completed, Judge Shaheed was appointed to the Supreme Court. 

The composition of the bench was then changed, with newly appointed High Court Judge Abdulla Jameel replacing Judge Shaheed. 

Following this, a hearing was held on Sunday, providing the opportunity to both sides to present their case again. After this, the court announced that hearings were closed, with the next stage being the announcing of the verdict. 

At the High Court, BML's lawyers claimed that the agreement had been made between Yameen and the ACC, and the bank is not directly involved. Hence, the case cannot be filed against the bank, they assert. 

According to BML's lawyers, prior rulings establish that a contract case cannot be brought against non-signatories. They said that although it was raised as a procedural point, a decision on this should have been made at the preliminary stage. 

The bank argued that the agreement between Yameen and the ACC outlined the procedure for releasing funds. Therefore, the case should have been filed against the ACC at the outset. Instead, Yameen first pursued action against the bank, with the case against the ACC coming later. 

The bank maintained it cannot release funds from a customer's account without that customer's consent, and therefore seeks a ruling that the case is not maintainable against it.