Former Football Association of Maldives (FAM) President Bassam Adeel Jaleel has been sentenced on Thursday to five additional years in jail and fined MVR 154,000 for money laundering.
The conviction stems 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.
Bassam was previously convicted of fraud over the same transaction and sentenced to four years in prison. Thursday’s ruling addresses the money laundering aspect of the case, marking his second conviction related to the USD 10,000 transfer.
The prosecution had sought a 15-year sentence and a USD 50,000 fine, citing the severity of the offense. Bassam, however, requested leniency. The court ultimately imposed a five-year sentence and a fine of MVR 154,000.
He is now serving a combined nine-year sentence across two convictions, with additional fraud and money laundering charges still pending. Bassam attended Thursday’s hearing online from jail but did not speak during the proceedings.