Author: Ahmed Nazeer

Two suspects charged with defrauding MVR18 million from Sheesha Brothers’ account deny charges

Three of the seven suspects charged in a case involving the fraudulent transfer of MVR 18 million from a State Bank of India account owned by the owners of Sheesha Motor Company, have denied charges against them.

Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Retired Colonel Shakath Ibrahim, Ali Ashraf of Rasmaadhoo in Raa Atoll and Mohamed Musthafa of Lhaimagu in Lhaviyani Atoll denied charges in court today, while the other hearings have yet to be held.

According to local media, the court was unable to hand over summons two persons charged with the case as they were not in the country.

On November 24, 2011, the Sheesha owners discovered that several unauthorised transfers had been made from their joint personal savings account to an unidentified recipient.

Following the Sheesha brothers’ – Ahmed Hassan Manik, Hussain Husham and Ibrahim Husham – discovery, they told local media the SBI transfer had been made to a Bank of Maldives account with a forged document faxed to SBI with Manik’s name and signature. The brothers said they would sue SBI and requested the bank take full responsibility for the theft.

In November 2011, Hussain Husham told local media that the total amount of MVR 18 million was taken in two transactions.

The first transaction was made on November 9, 2011, with the amount of MVR 8.5 million (US$551,000) withdrawn. On December 20, the culprits withdrew an additional MVR 9.5 million (US$616,000) from the Sheesha brothers’ account.

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Court sentences chief suspect in Afrasheem murder case to three years for drug offence

The Criminal Court has sentenced Hussain Humam, the chief suspect charged with the murder of MP Dr Afrasheem Ali, to three years in prison after finding him guilty of a drug offence.

The Criminal Court ruling stated that on July 14, 2012, police arrested Humam while he was under the influence of an illegal substance and tested his urine which showed that he had used cannabis.

Moreover, during the trial Humam confessed that he was under the influence of an illegal substance, the ruling stated.

Including this ruling, Humam will now have a total of 10 years in prison while the Afrasheem murder trial continues.

In March this year the Criminal Court sentenced Humam to six years in another drug related case and also gave him an additional year after finding him guilty of objection to order, as he refused to give urine sample during police investigations into the drug case.

Humam has previously confessed in court that he murdered Dr Afrasheem, but later had changed his testimony and denied all charges claiming that he had confessed only after police threatened him to do so while in custody.

In Humam’s alleged statement produced by police during the Afrasheem hearing he claimed the idea of killing Dr Afrasheem was given to him by Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) officer Azleef Rauf, whom he met at a baibalaa tournament held in 2012.

The pair later met in person again at a coffee, according to the statement, along with two other individuals the statement identified as Abdulla ‘Jaa’ Javid (son-in-law of opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik) and his brother ‘Jana’.

According to the prosecutor’s statement, Humam was promised a sum of MVR 4 million (US$260,000) for murdering the religious scholar. The statement said Humam later asked Azleef Rauf why Afrasheem was to be murdered, and was told that one of the reasons were Afrasheem’s remarks during the day former President Mohamed Nasheed controversially resigned.

State prosecutors accused Humam, along with Ali Shan – who is also facing the same charges – and a minor identified as ‘Nangi’, of going to the residence of Dr Afrasheem and murdering him with a machete and a bayonet knife.

Dr Afrasheem was a well-known religious scholar and the MP for Ungoofaaru constituency. He was stabbed to death on the night of October 1, on the staircase of his home.

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Civil Court uphold right of Center Enterprises to seek compensation from ACC

The Civil Court has decided that the Center Enterprises Company has the right to file a lawsuit against the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

The company initially sued the ACC following allegations made by the ACC that the company had defrauded money from Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) over a project concerning the supply of a cargo boat to MPL.

The Civil Court decision came after the commission disputed that the company could sue it, as the commission had the authority to halt the business transaction.

The company has claimed that the ACC’s allegations had made the banks lose trust in the company, which had affected some of the contracts and business transactions of the company.

The Center Enterprises Company is demanding the ACC pay MVR 74 million (US$4.8 million) in compensation for the losses caused by the allegations.

The Civil Court stated that Center Enterprises had said the lawsuit was not based on the fact that the ACC had ordered the MPL to halt the project, but was rather based on the allegations made by ACC through local media without referring to a letter sent to the ACC by MPL, reportedly vindicating the company.

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High Court delays Nasheed’s case until he returns from pilgrimage to Mecca

The High Court has delayed the trial of former President Mohamed Nasheed until July 25, after he requested the court grant him permission to leave the country to perform Umrah – a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

High Court Spokesperson Ameen Faisal confirmed to Minivan News that the High Court had informed Nasheed it had no objection to his request.

“Nasheed told the court that he wished to leave the country July 6-25 to visit Saudi Arabia and Dubai,” Ameen said.

“The court regulations state that if a respondent or defendant in a lawsuit wishes to leave the country they have to ask the court for permission.”

Ameen said that the court had not decided on a date for the next hearing of the case.

Nasheed filed a case at the High Court challenging the legitimacy of the panel of judges at the Hulhumale’ court appointed by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to preside over his trial, in which he was charged for detaining Chief Judge of the Criminal Court Abdulla Mohamed in early 2012.

The case was previously delayed after the Chief Judge of the High Court Ahmed Shareef, who was on the bench presiding over the case submitted by Nasheed, was suspended by the JSC.

A hearing of the case had been scheduled for July 7.

The High Court had previously issued a stay order on the Hulhumale Magistrate Court, requiring it to suspend all criminal trials concerning the arrest of the judge pending a ruling on the legitimacy of the court bench.

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Transport authority to destroy impounded vehicles

The transport authority has declared it will destroy all vehicles impounded by the police in their tow yard, despite a notice from parliament’s government oversight committee ordering it not to destroy the vehicles.

Speaking to the press today, chairman of the transport authority Abdul Rasheed Nafiz said that he did not believe that parliament could give the authority such an order as the motor vehicle act required the transport ministry to destroy impounded vehicles if the owner did not pay the fines within a certain duration.

Nafiz told the press that if MPs were worried about citizen’s property being destroyed they should amend the motor vehicle act to prevent the impounding and destruction of vehicles, or vote on the matter.

On June 24, police announced the impounded vehicles in the police tow yard would be destroyed if the owners did not claim them.

Police Spokesperson Ismail Ali told Minivan News that owners had already been given three months to reclaim their vehicles.

“The three month duration expired last Friday,’’ Ismail said. ‘’The tow yard is full now and we need the land for other purposes.’’

According to Ismail this is the first time  police will destroy vehicles since the motor transport act came in to effect.

‘’These vehicles that we are going to destroy have been here since 2008,’’ he said.

He said a committee consisting of members from Male City council, police, media, and transport authority will decide how to destroy these vehicles.

‘’The committee will give instructions to police,’’ he added.

Following the decision by police, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed ‘Bonda’ Rasheed staged a one-man protest inside the parliament chamber.

The Speaker Abdulla Shahid repeatedly asked Rasheed to take his seat, and after several hours asked security officials to remove him from the parliament chamber.

Later that day the issue was filed at the government oversight committee and the committee passed a motion to send a notice to the transport authority requesting it not destroy the vehicles.

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Police accuse former Home Minister of defrauding Madoogali Resort of service charge payments

Police have accused the former government’s Home Minister Hassan Afeef and a fellow shareholder of Madoogali Resort of implementing a policy halting service charge payments to staff, as required by the Employment Act.

In a statement police said company involved was Blue Lagoon Investment Private Limited, and identified the second shareholder as Moosa Hassan of Mathidhoo in the Maafaanu ward of Male.

Police alleged that Blue Lagoon Investment Private Limited had taken a 10 percent service charge from the tourists from November 2011 to January 2013, but failed to account for this in documentation.

Police claimed their investigation had revealed that the shareholders had defrauded 29 percent of the money they took as service charge.

According to police, the two shareholders also mortgaged the resort with a bank without consulting with the company’s third shareholder, against the regulations of the tourism ministry.

Police alleged the money from the bank was then used to pay the rent of Raafushi Island in Noonu Atoll, an uninhabited island being developed into a resort by a company shared by the two shareholders, Afeef and Moosa.

Speaking to Minivan News, Hassan Afeef alleged Police Commissioner Abdulla Riyaz had been bribed and told Minivan News to call Riyaz and “ask him more about it”.

Afeef then referred Minivan News to his lawyers as the case was going to be taken up in court.

Mauroof Zakir Hussein of the Tourism Employment Association of the Maldives (TEAM) said the organisation had not received any complaints from staff at the resort concerning service charge payments.

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Customs seize MVR 10 million worth of drugs hidden in mattresses

Customs officials last night seized 11.6 kilograms of illegal narcotics which they claim has an estimated street value of more than MVR 10 million (US$650,000).

The shipment of drugs was hidden inside foam mattresses imported from India.

Customs Superintendent Abdulla Shareef said in a press conference today that customs intelligence had received information about the shipment two months ago, and had been preparing for the operation for a long time.

The drugs were smuggled into the country on a cargo boat that set out from India on June 19, according to Shareef.

Shareef told the press that customs officials searched the boat at 10:00pm while it was docked in the Male’ commercial harbour, and discovered 14 packets hidden inside seven mattresses.

Two Maldivians have been arrested in connection with the case.

According to Shareef, the packets included one kilogram of heroin and 10.6 kilograms of hash oil.

He said the drugs seized were handed to police early this morning.

Police spokesperson Ismail Ali told Minivan News police could not give any details on the case and said they would only confirm the shipment had been handed over.

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Seven islanders to be charged for assault of Indian teacher on Kumundhoo

Police have sent the names of seven islanders of Kumundhoo Island in Haa Dhaalu Atoll to the Prosecutor General’s Office (PG) requesting they be charged in connection with the assault of an Indian teacher.

Police identified the seven persons charged as Hassan Riyaz, 27, of Male’,  and Hassan Rasheed, 35, Abdulla Hassan, 41, Husain Naseer, 36, Husam Ibrahim, 22, Junaidh Ibrahim, 18, Hajara Ali, 35, all from the island of Kumundhoo.

Police alleged that on May 14 the group entered the island school of Kumundhoo and assaulted the teacher while he was inside a classroom teaching.

According to police the investigation into the case was concluded and sent to the Prosecutor General for prosecution on June 17.

On May 15 Minivan News reported that an Indian physics teacher was hospitalised after a group of angry islanders confronted him and beat him up after accusing him of hitting a student in the chest.

“The expat teacher hit a 13 year-old student in the chest and the child fell and couldn’t breathe and was taken to the health centre,” Island Councilor Ali Anwar told Minivan News at the time.

“The islanders became angry at the teacher and gathered outside the school. The security guard and school staff were unable to control them.”

He said the islanders destroyed a power distribution unit outside the school cutting off its electricity, and then attacked the expat teacher.

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Police arrest Bangladeshi man following raid of Thinadhoo restaurant

Police have arrested a 30 year-old Bangladeshi national in connection with the discovery of a large quantity of illegal narcotics stashed inside a restaurant on Thinadhoo in Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll.

According to police, the restaurant was raided as part of an ongoing special operation to prepare the island for the upcoming presidential elections.

Police said the Bangladeshi man was arrested on June 23 inside a house on the island.

During the raid of the restaurant, police discovered 36 bullet sized packets of illegal drugs, three empty film cans containing illegal drugs, 15 rubber packets and a small plastic bag containing illegal drugs.

The raid on the restaurant was a joint operation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Department (DED), Special Operations (SO), police intelligence and Thinadhoo police station.

Earlier this week, police issued a statement announcing a decision to station officers of the Special Operations (SO) command on Thinadhoo.

A police spokesperson who declined to be named told Minivan News the Bangladeshi man was still in police custody.

“We have not arrested anyone else in connection with the case,” the spokesperson said.

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