High Court of the Maldives has ruled to send the case against Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment Ahmed Mahloof back to the lower court.
The High Court made the ruling after concluding the appeal hearings launched by the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) on the decision by the Criminal Court of the Maldives to dismiss the bribery charges pressed against Minister Mahloof after ruling that the evidence presented was not strong enough to proceed with the trial. After concluding the appeal hearings, the High Court stated the Criminal Court had not relied on crucial evidence provided by the state when making the decision to dismiss the charges and ruled that the lower court re-open the trial.
Minister Mahloof was charged with bribery in relation to the corruption scandal of the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC). The charge sheet presented by the PGO stated he had received a bribe of USD33,000 from the funds embezzled through MMPRC to vote in favour of the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) bill proposed by the then-administration when he was a parliamentarian. However, he has vehemently denied the charge and said the monetary transaction was legal.