Verdict to be delivered on ex-pres' account freeze

A verdict will be issued on Sunday on former president Abdulla Yameen's appeal on Criminal Court's order to freeze his bank accounts.

The verdict was initially scheduled to be delivered earlier this month, which was later cancelled due to administrative reasons. The hearing is now rescheduled to be held at 2.00pm on Sunday afternoon. The hearing will be conducted behind closed doors.

Only one hearing was held over the appeal case, after which the High Court had announced that a verdict would be delivered during the next hearing. No details of the closed door hearing were shared with the media.

The former president's accounts were frozen under a Criminal Court order as requested by the police. At the time the accounts were frozen, it contained over MVR 100 million, revealed the police. President Yameen was summoned to the police headquarters for questioning after his accounts were frozen, and was later held under state custody until the end of his money laundering trial. However, the High Court released him from detainment last week.

The former president's accounts were frozen as funds received for the 2018 presidential election campaign were deposited into an account under his name, and as USD one million related to the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Company (MMPRC) graft were in his account.

President Yameen's then attorney Azima Shakoor, who has now been implicated in his money laundering trial, had claimed that the accounts were frozen to serve a political purpose and had several legal issues. Azima had questioned why it was only President Yameen's accounts that were frozen, and said the action proves that the intent behind the move is obviously political.