The parents and wife of Mohamed Shamaan Waheed testified in the Criminal Court today in an effort to show that he repaid his student loans using money provided by his father.
Shamaan, who was dismissed as Controller of Immigration, faces three charges; extortion, abuse of official position and money laundering. Prosecutors allege he extorted MVR 500,000 from an expatriate and kept MVR 400,000.
At today’s hearing, the defence presented 10 witnesses, including Shamaan’s father Ibrahim Waheed, mother Murshiya Ibrahim and wife Idhfa Faiz.
The prosecution alleges that MVR 149,491.46 was deposited into one Bank of Maldives loan account and MVR 110,345.59 into another, settling two student loans under Shamaan’s name.
Ibrahim Waheed testified that he had given his son MVR 300,000 in cash to repay the loans, saying he was concerned the debt remained unpaid. He told the court he handed over the money in a bag, explaining that he typically keeps cash at home. Ibrahim said he earns income from running shops and cafés and renting apartments.
Murshiya told the court she witnessed her husband giving the money to their son, in the presence of Shamaan’s wife.
Idhfa Faiz testified that additional funds came from the sale of Shamaan’s car. She said she received USD 10,000 and MVR 250,000 as advance payments.
The vehicle was sold to a friend, Ahmed Mohamed Waheed. Although he was initially listed as a witness, the defence opted to proceed without his testimony. The car sale agreement was submitted to court, and two signatories testified.
One witness, Aminath Nashaya, said she signed the agreement and handed over the advance payment in both dollars and rufiyaa on the day of the transaction. Another witness, Farih Mohamed, said the car was sold for MVR 600,000 and that he saw the advance payment being counted and given to Shamaan.
Arif Mohamed, an immigration officer and close friend of Shamaan, testified that he deposited the cash in the bank to settle the loans. He said Shamaan told him the money had been provided by his father. Arif said he received the cash in a bag outside the Velana office complex and later deposited it during Ramadan, about a week after Shamaan’s arrest. He told the court he did not know the exact amount in the bag.
According to the charges, an expatriate found with MVR 530,000 was brought under customs detention and later released around midnight the following day on Shamaan’s orders while he was serving as Immigration Controller.
Investigators allege that officers who searched the expatriate’s residence later met him on the street and transported the money to the residence where Shamaan was staying.
The state claims Shamaan laundered part of the money and kept MVR 400,000 in his possession. Prosecution is seeking to recover MVR 250,000 from the allegedly laundered funds and an additional MVR 150,000; the balance of the MVR 400,000 allegedly kept with Shamaan. Compensation has also been sought for the money allegedly extorted from the expatriate.
