PGO appeals Amin Construction's acquittal in Bassam penthouse case

The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has appealed the acquittal of Amin Construction 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 January 6^th, however, acquitted Amin Construction.

The PGO filed an appeal with the High Court on Monday, stating that it believes the lower court’s decision to dismiss testimony from several key prosecution witnesses, as well as its overall assessment of the evidence, was inconsistent with established legal and judicial principles.

According to the PGO, it has asked the High Court to overturn the Criminal Court’s verdict and order a retrial.

The Office also requested an injunction from the High Court to suspend all transactions related to apartments A1205 and A1206 at Amin Avenue, a development by Amin Construction Private Limited, as the properties are allegedly connected to money laundering offenses. The request was submitted under Article 51 of the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Act.

In his ruling in the case, , 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.

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.