Former President Abdulla Yameen has denied the accusations made by his close friend and former Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Ahmed Nazim during the V. Aarah trial that Yameen masterminded the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Company (MMPRC) scandal to pay off his campaign debts.
Ahmed Nazim, who was one of former President Abdulla Yameen’s closest friends, was presented as the prosecution’s witness in the criminal case against former President Yameen for money laundering and bribery in connection to V. Aarah on Tuesday.
During the testimony, Nazim told the court that the former President was well aware of the acts of corruption made through MMPRC funds by Former Vice President Ahmed Adheeb and his allies. Nazim added that the former President was well aware of the acts of corruption made through MMPRC funds by former Vice President Ahmed Adheeb and his allies.
In a press conference held on Thursday night, Yameen denied all the accusations made against him by Nazim. Yameen said that Nazim wanted to be the Speaker of the Parliament and asked for Yameen’s assistance. However, a more capable person for the position was already decided and Nazim was offered the position of Parliamentary Group Leader instead. This started Nazim’s personal vendetta against him, according to Yameen.
Moreover, Yameen said that Nazim’s testimony was contradictory. As such, Nazim first stated that Yameen received MVR 15 million in a black bag from then Vice President Ahmed Adeeb but when Nazim was questioned again, he stated that he overheard Adeeb saying that MVR 15 million was already handed to Yameen during a meeting with notable politicians.
Yameen further denied that he illicitly used the funds from MMPRC to pay off his presidential campaign debts. Yameen defended his stance that the transactions between him and MMPRC were solely for money exchange purposes. Yameen also claimed that there is no way Nazim could have known about the financial details of the campaign and Nazim said so himself that he had no idea regarding the exact figures. This is a blatant personal vendetta against him by Nazim for not giving the Speaker of Parliament position, according to Yameen.
Former President Yameen is charged with money laundering and accepting a bribe of USD 1 million from former MP of Felidhoo Constituency Yusuf Naeem over the lease of V. Aarah for tourism development. However, he has denied all the charges against him.
