Former Tourism Minister Ali Waheed, who is currently facing sexual assault claims, has rushed to the support of former President Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who has been convicted of money laundering and is serving a 5-year jail sentence.
Ali Waheed was detained in the United Kingdom on August 25 for overstaying his visa while preparing for a press conference to discuss the accusations levelled against him. Following that, he claimed in a series of tweets on Saturday that there are no legal charges that can be brought against Yameen in connection with the MMPRC scandal.
Waheed noted that the international investigation conducted during Yameen’s administration did not result in the freezing of his accounts for the same reason, and he called for Yameen’s immediate release.
The former tourism minister also levelled serious allegations against Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem, claiming that the MMPRC’s list of corrupt officials begins with him.
In addition, he maintained his claim of being the primary source of help in acquiring former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb’s laptop and phone, which included communications and documents linked to the MMPRC scandal, through a UK institution.
Despite Ali Waheed’s accusations that the prosecutor general was engaged in the MMPRC scandal, Shameem has repeatedly rejected the allegations.
While Ali Waheed has come out in Yameen’s defense, the Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing on the former president’s money laundering conviction for today.
Ali Waheed was dismissed as tourism minister in July 2020, following allegations of sexual assault by tourism ministry employees.
He faces seven counts of sexual assault, including attempted rape, sexual indecent exposure, sexual assault, attempting to conduct sexual assault, and two counts of unauthorized sexual contact.
On February 9, the Criminal Court temporarily released Ali Waheed’s passport and permitted him to travel overseas for medical treatment. He immediately left for the United Kingdom.
Despite the fact that the court-mandated four-month period for his overseas travel had expired in June, he did not return to the Maldives.
On August 11, the Supreme Court found Ali Waheed’s refusal to appear in court to constitute contempt of court, with the court sentencing him to two months and 12 days in prison for failing to appear before the court twice despite receiving court summons.
