By Elishya Perera
MALE, Maldives (CWBN)_The former Maldives vice president Ahmed Adeeb was sentenced to 20 years in prison, after he pleaded guilty of money laundering under the advice of former President, Yameen Abdul Gayoom. In addition to the prison sentence, he was also fined $129,800 on Monday (5th October), by the Criminal Court. However, his prison sentence will be shortened by one year since he served jail time after a previous conviction on the same charges.
In the year 2016, he was sentenced to 33 years in prison, for masterminding a plot to kill the president by exploding a bomb on his speedboat, and for possessing firearms. Adeeb was an apprentice to former President Yameen Abdul Gayoom, and he was released from all charges in 2018 following the defeat of Yameen at the re-election.
After his release, Adeeb testified against Yameen, claiming that he laundered $1 million obtained through a corrupt deal leasing out an island for tourist resort development. He stated that the company later transferred the money to Yameen’s account. Subsequently, Adeeb tried to flee the country illegally in a fishing boat. However, he was detained by Indian Coast Guards and was deported back to Maldives, where he was arrested upon arrival.
The new president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih came into power promising to undo the politicisation of the judiciary and independent oversight bodies.
In 2019 Yameen was sentenced to 5 years in prison, and was fined USD 5 million for money laundering.
