Maldives Court Overturns Former President Abdulla Yameen’s 11-Year Prison Sentence; Orders Retrial

Maldives High Court has overturned former President Abdulla Yameen’s 11-year prison sentence on money laundering and bribery charges and ordered a retrial. The development comes two days ahead of parliamentary elections in this Indian Ocean archipelago nation.

The judges cited errors in the trial and highlighted Yameen’s deprivation of trial rights. They emphasized that the prosecution failed to prove the offense pillars outlined in the



indictment.

In December of 2022, Maldives’ Criminal Court, had sentenced former President Abdulla Yameen to 11 years in prison after being found guilty of money laundering and bribery.

He was accused of abusing his position and taking a 1 million USD  bribe to facilitate the sale of Aarah for resort development to Yoosuf Naeem, a former parliamentary representative for Felidhoo constituency, and laundering the money.