Criminal Court, on Tuesday, acquitted Amin Construction of criminal charges in connection with the company’s sale of two penthouses to former president of the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) President Bassam Adeel Jaleel, who had purchased the units with funds embezzled from the Association.
Bassam was convicted on corruption and money laundering charges over the embezzlement of USD 1.2 million (over MVR 18 million) issued to FAM by FIFA, and its misuse, on Sunday. According to the prosecution, the USD 1.2 million consisted of funds provided by FAM as a “COVID-19 Relief Loan” intended to support football clubs experiencing financial difficulties due to the pandemic. Bassam had allegedly used these funds to purchase two penthouses from Amin Construction.
Criminal Court sentenced him to 23 years in prison in connection with the charges on Tuesday: 15 years for money laundering and eight years for corruption.
The prosecution charged Amin Construction with aiding and abetting in money laundering in the case.
The company was acquitted of the charge on Tuesday.
In his ruling, Criminal Court Judge Mohamed Misbah stated that there was sufficient evidence to establish that USD 1.2 million issued by FIFA to the FAM, which was transferred to Amin Construction for conversion into Maldivian rufiyaa, was handed over in cash to FAM employee Hassan Waheed, a co-defendant in the case.
However, the judge emphasized that there was no evidence to substantiate the prosecution’s claim that the funds were used to purchase the penthouses. He explained that the only link presented was that the outstanding amount for the penthouses matched the sum given to Amin Construction, noting that there was no proof showing the money was transferred to Amin Construction for the purpose of buying the penthouses.
Nevertheless, Judge Misbah stressed that the Maldivian rufiyaa equivalent of the US dollars withdrawn from FAM’s account by cheque, purportedly for currency exchange, was never deposited into any of the Association’s accounts. Citing that Bassam paid for the apartment in cash, the judge acknowledged that the claim the money was lent to him another individual was not credible.
Despite this, Amin Construction was acquitted due to insufficient evidence to prove that the payments for the penthouses were made using the exchanged funds.
PGO has expressed concern over the ruling, stating that it considers Amin Construction’s acquittal unlawful, given Bassam’s conviction in the same case.
As such, the Office said it intends to appeal the acquittal of Amin Construction with the High Court, adding a final decision on the matter will be reached once the Office receives the complete case report.
Bassam is currently in prison serving a nine-year prison sentence in two separate cases: four years for corruption and five years for money laundering.
The convictions stem from Bassam’s deposit of USD 10,000, transferred from FIFA to FAM’s account at Bank of Ceylon, into his personal account between July and August 2018. He had claimed the funds were exchanged for Maldivian Rufiyaa, but failed to return the equivalent amount. Investigators later uncovered a fabricated paper trail suggesting the exchange had occurred.