Former President of the Maldives Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom has requested the Criminal Court to halt hearings in the V. Aarah money-laundering case until the hearings can be live-streamed. He made the request at a hearing held Wednesday.
The State raised money laundering and bribery against the former president, as he is suspected of having deposited funds from the sale of V. Aarah to his personal account and laundered the funds. The trial began at the Criminal Court on January 2. Although court proceedings are open to the public, the hearings are not broadcast live, unlike his previous money-laundering trials. Yameen's legal team has requested to live-stream the trial.
On Wednesday, the defense once again requested the judge to live-stream the trial. However, the presiding judge Ahmed Shakeel did not comment on the matter. He had previously said the court lacked the equipment and resources necessary to air the hearings and that it was not reason enough to pause the hearings. While the defense had proposed live-streaming the feed via a private party, the judge had said the Judges Council would make a decision on the issue.
In the hearing held Wednesday morning, the second defendant in the case, former Felidhoo MP Yoosuf Naeem, also charged with bribery, denied the charges against him.
The charges raised by the State said in the transaction between Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) and Yoosuf Naeem to lease V. Aarah to Yoosuf Naeem for resort development, Yameen, in his capacity as the then-President of the Maldives, had misused his power and attained USD 1 million as a bribe. The State claims he had laundered the funds received through bribery.
However, the defendant said the charges were baseless and requested the judge to grant him 30 days to prepare his defense.
President Yameen denied the charges raised against him in a previous hearing.
