The High Court judges' council has upheld the High Court registrar's decision to not review the case regarding the Hulhumalé Magistrate Court's order to seize two penthouses purchased by former FAM (Football Association of Maldives) president Bassam Adeel Jaleel using FAM funds.
Under the Hulhumalé Magistrate Court's order, police instructed Bassam last September to vacate the two penthouses within six days. Although Bassam requested an extension and it was initially granted, the decision was later reversed and he was ordered to vacate the properties.
Following this order, Bassam handed over two apartments he had purchased at Amin Avenue to the police. However, Bassam's side appealed the Hulhumalé Magistrate Court's order to the High Court. When the High Court registrar rejected the case, Bassam submitted it for review by the judges' council.
Yesterday, the judges' council decided there was no reason to change the registrar's decision.
Judge Mohamed Niyaz's opinion stated that such cases should first be submitted to the lower court that issued the order, and what should be appealed is the review decision. Judge Mohamed Shaneez said that Bassam had already submitted the case to the lower court for review when they believed the order was incorrect, and the court had made a decision. Therefore, if appealing, it should be the review decision that is appealed.
Thus, the registrar's decision was upheld by the opinion of these two judges. However, Chief Judge Mohamed Shaheed's opinion was that the registrar's decision should be invalidated.
The Chief Judge said that while the Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Act allows for court submission to terminate temporary measures, the law doesn't specify which court.
Therefore, the Chief Judge stated that since the right to appeal isn't restricted for the appealing party, the case should be accepted.
Police suspect that the two penthouses were purchased using loan money that FIFA provided to FAM to help football clubs overcome financial difficulties during the COVID-19 period.
In this case, police said Bassam paid one million US dollars from FAM funds to Amin Construction for the penthouses. However, Amin Construction hasn't paid the equivalent Maldivian rufiyaa to FAM, and documents were prepared to make it appear as if the payment was made, according to police.
Police said FAM took a loan from another company to make it appear as if they received the money, and this amount matches the receipts prepared to show Amin's supposed payment to FAM. Therefore, police believe efforts were made to show that the dollars Bassam paid to Amin for the apartments were for currency exchange.
Four charges of embezzlement and money laundering have been filed against Bassam in the FAM embezzlement case. While the trial has begun at the Criminal Court, proceedings have stalled as his lawyers have withdrawn from the case twice.