Former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor has been freed after seven charges raised against him by the state were dropped by the Criminal Court.
Adeeb was previously jailed over the MMPRC corruption case where millions in state funds were embezzled. After he was acquitted, several serious charges including money laundering charges were later raised against him after a plea deal was signed between the Prosecutor General’s Office and the former vice president.
The preliminary hearing of the seven charges against Adeeb was held virtually on Tuesday. The hearing was held to make a decision on the charges. The presiding judge, Ismail Rasheed previously raised several questions regarding the validity of the plea deal and the investigations surrounding it.
Responding to the judge’s inquiries, Adeeb said he signed a confession deal with the PG in return for allowing him to travel abroad for medical treatment. Although doctors had recommended for him to seek medical treatment abroad, then Prosecutor General Aishath Bisham had set the condition for travel as an exchange for a signed agreement. While the cooperation agreement between the two parties included clauses that allow his sentence to be lightened, the reason why the agreement included a clause on allowing Adeeb to travel abroad for medical treatment was also due to Adeeb’s request, PG said. The deal was signed within the authority given to the PG office, and a confession deal consists of what is agreed upon after discussion between the PG and the accused. The law does not dictate any specific terms for such a deal to be produced, said PG.
In the judges’ verdict, Judge Ismail Rasheed noted that the seven new charges were raised against Adeeb unlawfully. Therefore, such charges cannot be pursued in court, the judge ruled.
Judge Ismail Rasheed said the constitution does not allow one person to be punished for the same crime twice. However, during the MMPRC probe, two investigations were launched into Adeeb over the same crime, which violates his constitutional rights.
The judge also pointed out wrongdoing on the part of the police in conducting the investigation, and further noted that then Prosecutor General’s conduct regarding the case was questionable. He further pointed out that neither the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC), and the presidential commission on state asset recovery, with whom the police and PG had worked with jointly during the investigation, were not involved in the signing of the agreement between PG and Adeeb.
Moreover, the charges were raised after the statute of limitations had passed as per the criminal procedure act, said the judge. According to the criminal procedures, charges must be raised against detained individuals within 30 days of detainment, However, although the case being tried relates to a matter that occurred before the criminal procedure law came into effect, the initial charges against Adeeb were raised as an exceptional case. While two years have passed since then, the judge believes the charging period of 30 days to have passed, said the judge.
Adeeb was previously convicted on corruption charges relating to the leasing of Maabinhura island. While the Criminal Court sentenced him to ten years in jail over the conviction, the verdict was overturned by the High Court, which ordered the Criminal Court to conduct a re-trial. Although the case was appealed at the Supreme Court by the PG, a plea deal was bargained with Adeeb after which the PG agreed to withdraw the appeal from the Supreme Court. Criminal Court later decided not to doncustc a re-trial as the High Court had already established that the investigation of the Maabinhuraa case was wrongful. While Adeeb was not serving any sentences at the time of the current trial, he was under the states’ custody until the end of the trial.
Tuesday’s Criminal Court verdict has now been appealed at the High Court by the state.
