Regarding the prison sentence after an investigation into former Immigration Controller Shamman Waheed, the police have stated that even though there were serious allegations against him, he made no mention of what he allegedly said while the investigation was being conducted and that he did not give access to the phone that allegedly contained evidence of corruption.

On Tuesday, the court sentenced Shamman to 25 years in prison as charges of complicity in extortion, abuse of official capacity, and money laundering were proven against him.

While speaking to the media outside the Criminal Court after arriving for the sentencing hearing of the three charges raised against him, Shamman had directed some serious allegations at Home Minister Ali Ihusaan and Attorney General Ahmed Usham. Shamman stated that it includes acts of corruption that both individuals are alleged to be carrying out. Shamman said that upon sharing these matters with President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, he had to face this trial.

Ihusaan and Usham have both denied said allegations. Ihusaan has also requested the police to give a detailed account to the public regarding the case against Shamman.

The police have released a statement regarding the case, which reads that Shamman and some Immigration staff abused their position to extort money from foreign nationals and had allegedly used that money to conduct acts of money laundering, with the police conducting an investigation as per Maldivian laws and procedures.

After the investigation into the case began, the police shared an update with the media on 21st March 2025. The police also said that they have shared updates of the investigation to the media afterward over various instances.

The police said that when looking at the information gathered from the investigation, they have confirmed that Shamman was aware of the operation from Immigration from the planning stage up until the enforcement of the operation. 

Even though the operation took place on the night of 11th March 2025, the investigation has revealed that discussions regarding the operation had been conducted in Shamman's office a week before it took place.

The police went on to say that the night the foreign nationals were brought under the Immigration's purview, Shamman had received said information. The investigation revealed that after he did receive the information, the procedure to release one of the foreign nationals began, with it being expedited after Immigration had received an email from a sponsor. Shamman had also instructed relevant staff in the matter.

Along with that, two Immigration staff parked their vehicle and drove via a motorcycle to Shamman's apartment building at 3:00am where he resides, while in the possession of bags that held the money. The police said that after around three minutes, they left the building without the bag in question.

According to the police, the day after this incident on 13th March 2025, a total of MVR 259,837 was deposited into two of Shamman's Bank of Maldives (BML) accounts.

"The allegations regarding the investigation which were that the investigation was planned ahead of time in order to bring about a predetermined result, that the conclusions of the investigation were as per the instruction of a political individual or otherwise are all false. The results of the investigation were based upon the evidence that was obtained during the investigation and within the relevant laws and regulations, with it being conducted by the institution with complete freedom," as was written in the statement.

"The passcode that was required by Mohamed Shamman Waheed to open the phone that was seized for investigation purposes during the investigation stages and the subsequent trial phases were not provided. And so, there was no opportunity to look through and investigate the contents of the phone."

As per the police, even though Shamman told the media on Tuesday that his phone, which was under police authority, had evidence of corruption on it, he made no attempt to share that information with the police during the entirety of the investigation and even after he was released from remand on 25th December 2025. The police also stated that they were not informed whether such information was officially submitted to any institution that has the legal mandate to conduct investigations into corruption cases.

Investigations from the police are conducted under no influence, without favoring any side and according to legal procedures, said the police. They have also assured that, even if any sort of accusation is made regarding a criminal offense, if any relevant information or evidence is submitted by anyone, it is researched and investigated as per legal procedure.

The police said that they completely respect the Maldivian Constitution, the justice system that has been established as per laws and the independence of the courthouse. They have also requested if anyone is dissatisfied with any court rulings or if they are of the opinion that a ruling is to be reviewed, to exercise the right to appeal the ruling.