An Immigration officer implicated in the 'Shamaan-case' has been sentenced to 11 months in jail after admitting to extorting money from foreigners.
Ibrahim Ahmed was the last defendant to be sentenced in the case, which stems from an incident during last year’s Ramadan. Former Immigration Controller Shamaan Waheed and several officers were accused of extorting money from a foreigner in exchange for releasing him from custody.
Ibrahim pleaded guilty to three charges: abuse of official position, robbery, and unauthorized possession of another person’s property.
The charge of abusing official position carried a sentence of one year and 12 days. Under a plea agreement, two months will be served in jail, while the remaining portion was converted into a fine of MVR 62,400.
For the robbery charge, he received a sentence of two years, four months and 24 days. Seven months will be served in jail, with the rest converted into a fine of MVR 130,800. He was also ordered to pay MVR 50,000 in damages to the foreigner.
In addition, he was sentenced to one year and 12 days for unauthorized possession of another person’s property. Two months of that sentence will be served in jail, with the remainder converted into a fine of MVR 62,400. He was also ordered to pay USD 3,500 in damages to the foreigner he extorted.
Shamaan has denied the charges against him. His cases remain pending.