High Court to hear case against ex-pres Yameen filed by BML

The High Court is set to commence a case filed against former President Abdulla Yameen by the Bank of Maldives (BML) today.

The case concerns an escrow account opened at BML between Yameen and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to deposit questionable funds in Yameen’s possession for a designated period.

During Yameen’s presidency, a total of USD 1 million of allegedly laundered funds, intended for the Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation (MMPRC), were deposited into Yameen's personal account at Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) through two cheques. Yameen initially refused to surrender the funds to the ACC, leading to an agreement between ACC and Yameen to hold the funds in an escrow account at BML. The funds entered Yameen's account at MIB in November 2015, and the escrow agreement was signed between Yameen and ACC on March 15, 2018, ahead of the 2018 presidential election. It later came to light that the funds deposited into the BML escrow account were not the original USD 1 million in Yameen's MIB account.

In February of this year, the Civil Court ruled that BML was accountable for matters related to the escrow account. Following this ruling by Judge Azfa Abdul Ghafoor, BML filed an appeal at the High Court, questioning whether the Civil Court had the jurisdiction to hear the case. In May, the High Court issued an order against Yameen regarding the case.

A three-judge bench, consisting of High Court Chief Judge Hussain Shaheed, Judge Fathmath Farheeza, and Judge Dheebanaz Fahmy are expected to hear the case today.