The Criminal Court has just determined that all three charges raised by the state against Mohamed Shammaan Waheed, who was dismissed from the position of Controller of Immigration, have been proven.

The Criminal Court determined that all three charges pressed against Shammaan by the state have been proven against him beyond a reasonable doubt. Shammaan was found guilty of complicity in robbery, abuse of official capacity, and money laundering.

As the charges have been determined to be proven, discussions regarding the sentencing are currently underway. The judge will decide on the penalty to be imposed on Shammaan after hearing the statements from both sides.

The state has requested that the maximum penalty be imposed on Shammaan. This is because, following the precedent set by the prior sentencing of former Fenaka Corporation MD Mohamed Saeed, a decision has been made to issue severe penalties for crimes committed while holding senior state positions.

The basic penalty for the charge of complicity in robbery is a prison sentence of three years, two months, and 12 days. The state requested to increase this penalty to an eight-year prison sentence. The basic penalty for the charge of abuse of official capacity is a prison sentence of one year and seven months. The state requested to determine a two-year prison sentence for this charge.

The penalty for the charge of money laundering is a prison sentence ranging between five and 15 years, along with a fine. The state requested to sentence Shammaan to 15 years in prison and to fine him by MVR 2 million. Additionally, the state requested the confiscation of MVR 125,000 and USD 10,000 found in Shammaan's house to the state.

Shammaan's side requested that the most lenient penalty be granted. His side also requested to substitute the prison sentence with a fine or a house arrest penalty.

The verdict delivered against Shammaan stated that the evidence presented by the state shows that a foreign national was robbed and that Shammaan was complicit in that robbery. It also noted that it is proven that he used his official capacity with bad faith.

The verdict stated that Shammaan acted in a manner that provided an illicit advantage to a specific individual during the apprehension and release of the foreign national. The verdict noted that Shammaan accepted and kept in his possession the money obtained through the crime after robbing the foreign national.

Furthermore, the verdict stated it is proven beyond any doubt that Shammaan utilized the money while knowing that it was obtained through criminal means.

The state alleges that when a foreign national was detained, Shammaan robbed MVR 500,000 confiscated from him and kept MVR 400,000 of it in his possession. The charges against Shammaan also stated that to make payments towards two student loans taken in Shammaan's name, MVR 149,491.46 was deposited into a Bank of Maldives loan account and MVR 110,345.59 was deposited into another loan account.

The charges against Shammaan state that among the detained expatriates, a foreign national who was brought to detention along with MVR 530,000 was released one day later during late-night hours under Shammaan's orders. It also states that the Immigration staff who searched the house where the expatriates lived met the released foreign national on the street, and those officers went to the building where Shammaan resides while carrying that money.

Among the funds that Shammaan is accused of laundering, the lawsuit requested the confiscation of MVR 250,000 taken into police custody from his house to the state, and to confiscation an amount equivalent to the remaining MVR 150,000 out of the total MVR 400,000 kept by Shammaan from the money taken into police custody from his house.