Tag: Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim

High Court upholds dismissal of corruption charges against deputy speaker of parliament

The High Court last Thursday upheld the Criminal Court’s dismissal of corruption charges against Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim.

The ruling Progressive Party of Maldives MP was charged with four counts of corruption in late 2009 for allegedly conspiring to defraud the former Ministry of Atolls Development.

Shortly after the controversial transfer of presidential power in February 2012, the Criminal Court ruled that there was insufficient evidence implicating the MP in the alleged scam.

The Prosecutor General’s office appealed the decisions later that year at the High Court on the grounds that the Criminal Court refused to accept state witnesses.

The court of appeal ruled last week that the prosecution was unable to prove that Nazim’s employees signed bogus bid proposals on his instructions.

Moreover, the High Court referred to a Supreme Court precedent which established that accomplices to a crime could not testify for or against an alleged partner to the crime.

The scam – first flagged in an audit report released in early 2009 – involved paper companies allegedly set up by Nazim to win bids for projects worth several hundred thousands dollars, including the fraudulent purchase of harbour lights, national flags, and mosque sound systems.

At a press conference in August 2009, police exhibited numerous quotations, agreements, tender documents, receipts, bank statements, and forged cheques showing that Nazim received over US$400,000 in the scam.

A hard disk seized during a raid of Nazim’s office in May 2009 allegedly contained copies of forged documents and bogus letterheads.

Police alleged that money was channelled through the scam to Nazim who laundered cash through Namira Engineering – of which Nazim was the managing director – and unregistered companies.

Paper companies were allegedly formed using Namira’s equipment and staff to bid for public tenders announced by the now-defunct ministry.

According to the audit report,  evidence was uncovered linking those companies to Nazim with phone and fax numbers stated on the bidding documents registered under his address while the company shareholders were either working at Namira or relatives of Nazim.

Then-employees of Namira testified under oath that they were instructed by Nazim to bid for the projects – however, the Criminal Court judge concluded from their testimonies that they were responsible for the procurement fraud and dismissed their testimonies.

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Police present MDP MP Jabir to Criminal Court for alcohol raid trial

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Abdulla Jabir was presented to the Criminal Court by police today, after being kept in custody since Tuesday (September 10) ahead of his trial for alleged possession of alcohol and cannabis.

Jabir and fellow MDP MP Hamid Abdul Ghafoor are among several senior party figures charged with drug and alcohol offences, after being arrested on on Hondaidhoo Island in November whilst allegedly under the influence of illegal substances.

While Jabir at the time of his arrest was a member of the Jumhoree Party (JP) – he later defected to the opposition – the MDP has maintained that his arrest was politically motivated to coincide with a no confidence motion at the time against senior government figures.

The MDP has alleged that the treatment of its MPs, including, Jabir was noticeably different to those of other parties currently aligned to the present government, accusing prosecutors of persecuting its members and supporters.

The trial began earlier this month, with Ghafoor being the only MP in attendance to hear charges against him concerning the case.

A total of 10 people taken into police custody on November 16 after officers obtain a warrant to search the island of Hondaidhoo.

Today’s hearing

Criminal Court Spokesperson Ahmed Mohamed Manik said state prosecutors during the hearing read out a list of charges against Jabir. The MDP MP will be given a chance to respond to these charges against him at the next hearing, Manik added.

Police Spokesperson Chief Inspector Hassan Haneef confirmed to Minivan News that Jabir had been held in police custody ahead of the hearing, under an order previously issued by the Criminal Court. Police did not provide any further details on where the MP had been detained.

Jabir earlier this week had his passport held by immigration officials when trying to leave the country, after previously failing to attend the opening hearing of the trial into the charges against him.

Explaining the absence, MDP MP Imthiyaz Fahmy ‘Inthi’ told Minivan News he understood Jabir had not received a summons from the Criminal Court to attend the trial, but would have attended if having done so.

“He has been away from Male’ campaigning [for the presidential election held on September 7] and had not therefore received a summons,” he said, accusing the country’s courts of purposefully scheduling hearings against MDP MPs to try and stymie the party’s election campaign.

Fahmy additionally claimed that the Criminal Court had failed to follow its own procedures, and that a summons had to be re-sent if not received by the individual in question.

By comparison, he alleged that Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP and Deputy Speak of Parliament Ahmed Nazim had failed to respond to 12 summons without arrest in relation to his trial for fraud – charges which he was later acquitted of. That case is now the subject of an ongoing High Court appeal.

Fahmy said although the MDP had not been requested to provide a lawyer for Jabir, the party would be ready to provide assistance to him in what it continues to allege is a “politically motivated” arrest.

Fahmy also alleged that the judiciary was seeking to fast track cases against MDP members to hinder the party and its campaigning ahead of a run-off vote scheduled for September 28.

He himself is currently facing a charge of “disobeying orders” over allegedly contemptuous remarks he made against the judiciary during a television show.

Fahmy argued that Jabir, along with Hamid Abdul Ghafoor and the son of the former President Nasheed’s Special Envoy, Mohamed Hamdhoon Zaki, were on a “private island” when they arrested by police officers, who he alleged beat and then arrested them.

“This all happened at the time of a no confidence motion against Minister of Defence Mohamed Nazim and is a clear attempt at intimidation,” claimed Fahmy.

He said that the arrest was against Majlis regulations that say an MP could not be arrested at the time of a no confidence vote.

The no confidence vote had been scheduled for April 8, but was postponed after MDP MPs objected to a decision to not hold the vote in secret despite a parliamentary decision approving a secret ballot.

Previous MP liquor cases

Police last year forwarded a case for prosecution against MP Ahmed ‘Sun Travel’ Shiyam, after a bottle of alcohol was allegedly found in his luggage in March 2012 upon his return to the Maldives after an overseas trip.

The bottle was allegedly discovered when his luggage was screened.

Shiyam is the head of the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), a new party allied with the Progressive Party of the Maldives and its bid for the presidency on September 28.

Newspaper Haveeru reported on September 3 this year that the case was sent back to police by the Prosecutor General’s Office in August 2012 to clarify further information.

Police have yet to send the case to the PG office over a year later.

The penalty for alcohol possession in the penal code is either a fine of between MVR1,000 to MVR3,000 or imprisonment, banishment or house arrest between one to three years.

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Civil Court freezes accounts, holds passport of DRP Leader Thasmeen

The Civil Court has issued a court order today freezing the bank accounts and holding the passport of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali over a case filed by Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim to recover an unpaid debt of MVR 1.92 million (US$124,513).

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Nazim filed the case requesting enforcement of a Civil Court verdict in April 2011 – upheld by the High Court in April 2013 – ordering the recently appointed running mate of President Dr Mohamed Waheed to settle the debt.

A Civil Court media official explained to Minivan News that freezing accounts and holding passports were the normal procedure to follow in cases of decreed debt.

The media official confirmed that the Civil Court has issued the court order to both freeze Thasmeen’s bank accounts and hold his passport following today’s hearing.

Thasmeen’s lawyer reportedly said that his client was preparing to appeal the High Court ruling at the Supreme Court. The judge however replied that the civil case would proceed until such a time when the Supreme Court decides to hear the appeal.

MP Nazim sued Thasmeen in March 2011 to recover MVR 1.92 million (US$124,513) unpaid from a loan worth MVR 2.55 million (US$200,000). After the Civil Court ruled in favour of Nazim, Thasmeen appealed the judgment at the High Court in June 2011.

At the time the case was filed at the Civil Court, Thasmeen’s DRP was in a formal coalition with the minority opposition People’s Alliance (PA) led by Nazim and current PPM presidential candidate Abdulla Yameen.

The DRP-PA coalition agreement was severed in July 2011 amidst internal strife within the then-main opposition party, which saw a breakaway faction loyal to former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom leaving the party to form PPM in October 2011.

Following an acrimonious war of words between then-DRP ‘Honorary Leader’ Gayoom and his successor Thasmeen, the former president withdrew his endorsement of the DRP presidential candidate in March 2011.

Meanwhile, at the final hearing of the Civil Court case in April 2011, Thasmeen’s lawyer reportedly claimed that Nazim agreed to sell Shaviyani Kabalifaru, which was leased for development as a resort in 2005, to raise funds to cover the MVR 2.55 million loan.

Thasmeen’s lawyer denied that an agreement was made between the pair to pay back the loan in a month, claiming that Nazim failed to find a buyer for Kabalifaru as agreed upon in November 2008.

The lawyer also denied Nazim’s claim that the loan was taken to pay back Thasmeen’s debts at the Bank of Maldives.

However, Nazim’s lawyer, Mohamed ‘Reynis’ Saleem – currently President Waheed’s member on the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) – disputed both claims, demanding documentation to prove that Thasmeen gave power of attorney to Nazim to sell the resort.

At a previous hearing, Nazim’s lawyer had produced a document with Thasmeen’s signature, prompting Judge Hathif Hilmy to observe that the purported loan agreement had a reference number and that it was therefore reasonable to expect Thasmeen to be aware of the details of the amount in question.

Article 73(c) of the constitution states, “A person shall be disqualified from election as, a member of the People’s Majlis, or a member of the People’s Majlis immediately becomes disqualified, if he has a decreed debt which is not being paid as provided in the judgment.”

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High Court orders DRP Leader Thasmeen to settle MVR 1.9 million debt to Deputy Speaker Nazim

The High Court today upheld a Civil Court verdict in April 2011 ordering Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali to settle an outstanding debt of MVR 1.92 million (US$124,513) owed to Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim.

MP Nazim, who recently joined the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), sued the DRP presidential candidate in March 2011 to recover MVR 1.92 million (US$124,513) unpaid from a loan worth MVR 2.55 million (US$200,000).

While the High Court upheld the lower court verdict, the ruling (Dhivehi) invalidated the part of the Civil Court verdict ordering Thasmeen to pay Nazim MVR1,800 (US$140) incurred as lawyer’s fees based on a rate of MVR300 per hearing.

Nazim had claimed MVR100,000 (US$6,485) as compensation for lawyer’s fees.

The three-judge panel presiding over the case included High Court Chief Judge Ahmed Shareef, Judge Abdulla Hameed and Judge Ali Sameer.

The High Court judgment coincided with the launching today of the DRP’s fourth national congress at the Dharubaaruge convention center with 700 delegates.

At the final hearing of the Civil Court case in April 2011, Thasmeen’s lawyer reportedly claimed that Nazim agreed to sell Shaviyani Kabalifaru, which was leased for development as a resort in 2005, to raise funds to cover the MVR 2.55 million loan.

Thasmeen’s lawyer denied that an agreement was made between the pair to pay back the loan in a month, claiming that Nazim failed to find a buyer for Kabalifaru as agreed upon in November 2008.

The lawyer also denied Nazim’s claim that the loan was taken to pay back Thasmeen’s debts at the Bank of Maldives.

However, Nazim’s lawyer, Mohamed Saleem, disputed both claims, demanding documentation to prove that Thasmeen gave power of attorney to Nazim to sell the resort.

At a previous hearing, Nazim’s lawyer had produced a document with Thasmeen’s signature, prompting Judge Hathif Hilmy to note that the purported loan agreement had a reference number and that it was therefore reasonable to expect Thasmeen to be aware of the details of the amount in question.

At the time the case was filed, Thasmeen’s DRP was in a formal coalition with the minority opposition People’s Alliance (PA) led by Nazim and current PPM presidential candidate Abdulla Yameen.

The DRP-PA coalition agreement was terminated in July 2011 amidst internal strife within the then-main opposition party, which saw a breakaway faction loyal to former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom leaving the party to form PPM in October 2011.

Following an acrimonious war of words between then-DRP ‘Honorary Leader’ Gayoom and his successor Thasmeen, the former president withdrew his endorsement of the DRP presidential candidate in March 2011.

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Speaker Shahid’s switch to MDP now a “foregone conclusion”: PPM MP Nihan

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Nihan has claimed Parliamentary Speaker Abdulla Shahid’s rumoured switch to the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) was now a “forgone conclusion”.

Nihan told Minivan News today he was not surprised about recent speculation linking Speaker Shahid with a switch from the government-aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) to the opposition MDP – claiming his fellow PPM MPs had suspected his “alignment” with the MDP for at least the last twelve months.

Ongoing media speculation this week over the speaker’s political allegiance has seen high-profile politicians such as former President Mohamed Nasheed publicly discussing Shahid’s potential switch to the MDP.  The DRP meanwhile have maintained that it has not been officially informed of any switch.

A parliamentary source within the MDP on condition of anonymity today confirmed by SMS that the speaker was expected to be joining the opposition party, claiming: “yes, speaker [is] moving”.

However, this afternoon party officials were refusing to acknowledge any such switch when contacted by Minivan News.  The MDP did nonetheless maintain that it would welcome a senior politician such as Shahid into their ranks ahead of presidential elections scheduled for September this year.

Shahid, who has not officially confirmed whether he intends to either switch parties or remain with the DRP, was not responding to calls at time of press.

“Forgone conclusion”

Addressing the current uncertainty over the speaker’s affiliations, PPM MP Nihan said today that his party believed speculation over Shahid’s switch remained just a rumour.

“As far as we are concerned, on Tuesday (April 9) MP Riyaz Rasheed asked for confirmation in the Majlis from the speaker [about whether he would be switching parties]”. No official response was given,” Nihan said.

“I cannot confirm this myself, but the rumour [of a switch in parties] has been there for a long-time. We’ve been hearing a lot of news that Shahid might be leaving the DRP over political differences, but I cannot exactly say anything on that.”

Nihan said that he had worked with Shahid for many years and personally found him to be very capable in his position as speaker.  He added that he was not sure how his fellow party members or other government-aligned MPs might view a decision to switch to the opposition.

Nihan also stated that with the DRP having been “very silent” on political issues in the current climate, he believed it might be “quite reasonable” for Shahid’s career progression that he look to transfer to a different party.

Nihan claimed that the current “ground reality” in Maldivian politics ahead of upcoming presidential elections was a two-way divide between either former President Mohamed Nasheed’s MDP or former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s PPM.

Following recent campaigning for the party on Fuvahmulah, Nihan claimed that a number supporters of both his own party and the MDP had recently welcomed representatives from both parties to the island in significant numbers. He questioned whether the DRP would have similar support by comparison.

“Loyalty”

Speaking to Minivan News today, DRP Deputy Leader Ibrahim Shareef said that there had been no official word from the speaker on his political intentions at time of press.

Shareef said that ultimately, losing any high-profile politician from a political party was always a huge loss for its supporters.

“It seems it is the reality of life and politics that loyalty does not run deep,” he said. “But we will move on as a party and continue to stand by our key principles.”

Shareef added that the Maldives remained a young democracy and that the DRP would continue to look for the “best way forward” for its members whatever happens.

“It is understandable in this climate that there will be a realignment in the coming days and months within political parties,” he added.

Opposition view

Addressing the rumours of Shahid switching parties this week, former President Mohamed Nasheed was reported in local media as claiming the MDP to be the only party “fully informed” about the Maldives and its future developments – making it attractive for other politicians to join them.

“We know what the Maldives is. Maldivian Democratic Party knows the Maldives well. Maldivian Democratic Party is the political party that knows the history of the Maldives, the seas of the Maldives, the palm trees, and everything related to the Maldives,” he was quoted as saying in Sun Online.

“That’s why we hear stories about Abdullah Shahid joining us. Everyone who knows the Maldives and wants to work with the people of the Maldives towards the development of the country, will join our party.”

MDP MP and Spokesperson Ahmid Abdul Ghafoor today said that only Shahid himself could confirm if he would be joining the MDP, adding he personally did not wish to “pre-empt” any statements that might be made on the issue.

Hamid nonetheless reiterated Nasheed’s earlier claims that that the MDP was the only party that could serve to attract politicians wanting to make a difference in the country.

He said that should the parliamentary speaker decide to join the opposition party, it would represent a “major shift” in the country’s political landscape.

Switch rumours

Earlier this week, local media reported that government-aligned MPs Mohamed ‘Colonel’ Nasheed, MP Ali Azim and MP Hassan Adil were also rumoured to be preparing to join the MDP.

Speaker Shahid, Ali Azim and Nasheed are all from the DRP. The supposed reason for their defection, as reported in local media, was a clash within the party’s parliamentary group over its stand on recently scheduled no-confidence motion against Home Minister Mohamed Jameel Ahmed.

A source in the MDP familiar with the matter previously alleged to Minivan News that the defection of the MPs was prompted after DRP Leader MP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali brokered a “last minute deal” with the government in return for DRP not voting against the minister.

According to a 2010 report by former Auditor General Ibrahim Naeem, loans totalling MVR1 billion, taken out by Fonadhoo Tuna and luxury yachting company Sultans of the Sea, both connected to to DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali, had yet to see any repayments.

Together the loans accounted for 13 per cent of the total amount loaned by the bank in 2008. Naeem commented at the time that defaults on bank loans issued to “influential political players” could jeopardise the entire financial system of the country.

DRP MPs Mohamed Nashiz and Ali Azim were summoned to court in November 2012 regarding the debts, just as parliament was voting to determine whether no-confidence motions against ministers could be taken in secret.

Those summons were in relation to a Civil Court ordering Mahandhoo Investments and Kabalifaru Investments – two companies with ties to Thasmeen – to repay millions of dollars worth of loans to the Bank of Maldives Plc Ltd (BML). The verdict was also upheld by the High Court in October 2011.

MP Azim alleged at the time that President Dr Mohamed Waheed and other senior members of the executive had approached him and offered to cancel the court summons if he agreed to vote for the secret balloting in a way they preferred.

According to one MDP source, ahead of a no-confidence motion scheduled for April 8, 2013, the DRP had “in principle agreed” to vote against the minister, but had changed their minds at the last minute.

Speaker Abdulla Shahid was “left no choice but to call off the session”.

Shahid called off the parliamentary session following point of orders taken by opposition MDP MPs over the issue of the secret ballot, which the Supreme Court had overturned despite parliament’s earlier vote in favour.

Earlier this month, Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Ahmed Nazim officially completed his switch from the government-aligned People’s Aliance (PA) party to the PPM. The PPM is also a member of President Dr Mohamed Waheed’s coalition government.

Abdulla Yameen, half brother of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and a founder of the PA party, is now the PPM’s candidate for this year’s presidential elections.

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Resolution calling for Dr Shaheed’s dismissal from UN post removed from Majlis agenda

Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim – presiding in the absence of Speaker Abdulla Shahid – removed from the agenda a resolution submitted by Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) MP Riyaz Rasheed calling for the dismissal of former Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed from his post as UN Special Rapporteur on Iran.

Nazim said at the beginning of today’s sitting that the item could not be tabled in the agenda and apologised for having previously tabled it for debate and announced a first reading.

He noted that the UN and not the Maldivian government had appointed Dr Shaheed to the post.

The People’s Alliance Leader made the apology after Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Sameer raised a point of order to object to the resolution being accepted in August, contending that in doing so parliament had defamed Dr Shaheed.

“If someone told him that a resolution in the parliament is not going to strip him of his FIFA referee accreditation, he might understand,” Dr Shaheed told Minivan News when the resolution was first submitted by the DQP Deputy Leader.

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Parliament sitting cancelled over loss of quorum

Today’s sitting of parliament was cancelled by Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim – presiding in the absence of Speaker Abdulla Shahid – after the minimum number of MPs to hold the session failed to attend when the sitting restarted at 11:00am.

Quorum was first lost an hour into the sitting, which began at 9:00am. The sitting was called off when quorum was not met after an adjournment of 30 minutes.

Before the cancellation, preliminary debate continued on a resolution submitted by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MP Ahmed Sameer calling for an inquiry into the government obtaining a MVR 300 million loan from the Bank of the Maldives in alleged violation of the Public Finance Act.

Debate also took place on a bill proposed by Independent MP for Kulhudhufushi South Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed specifying guidelines on exercising the right to remain silent.

Several MPs contended that the bill contravened constitutional clauses on the rights of the accused. However, other MPs argued that the law was necessary to combat rising crime rates.

MP Nasheed meanwhile explained that the legislation specifies circumstances where the right to remain silent could not be exercised.

Meanwhile, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MP Ahmed Mahloof said on his Twitter account that a number of people were unable to travel to Male’ after the Eid holidays due to bad weather.

“We are stuck in Mulah,” he tweeted. A PPM team including a number of MPs were in Meemu atoll ahead of Monday’s by-election for a vacant atoll council seat from the Mulaku constituency.

The PPM for Galolhu South urged the government to declare Tuesday a public holiday.

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Suspension of parliament leaves legal void for regulations on freedom of assembly, political parties

Several general regulations without parent legislation, including rules governing political parties and freedom of assembly, will cease to have legal force if an extension is not approved at a parliament sitting before midnight on Sunday, August 5.

Parliament however remains deadlocked and sittings have been suspended indefinitely amidst forced cancellations and escalating political tension.

Prior to the ratification of the new constitution on August 7, 2008, parliament passed a General Regulations Act as parent legislation for over 80 regulations without a statutory basis, or were not formulated under an Act of parliament. These include regulations for criminal justice procedures, companies and finance leasing transactions, insurance, jails and parole, freedom of information and building codes.

Article 271 of the constitution states, “Regulations derive their authority from laws passed by the People’s Majlis pursuant to which they are enacted, and are enforceable pursuant to such lawful authority. Any regulations requiring compliance by citizens must only be enacted pursuant to authority granted by a law enacted by the People’s Majlis.”

The parent act prolonged the lifespan of the regulations – deemed necessary for administrative functions and service provision – for a one year period until new legislation, such as a Criminal Procedures Act, Evidence Act, Freedom of Information Act and Political Parties Act could be enacted.

The act provided for further extensions based on recommendations by parliament’s Rules Committee. The last extension was approved in December 2011 and is set to elapse on August 5, after which the regulations would become null and void.

With the People’s Majlis at a standstill and the outcome of talks between parliamentary group leaders unclear, Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim yesterday warned of an impending “legal void” should the parent act be allowed to expire.

Nazim told newspaper Haveeru that the Act included “two very important regulations” for the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).

“This problem will become a huge issue,” the People’s Alliance (PA) leader was quoted as saying. “It is therefore of utmost importance that a Majlis sitting is held before Sunday to find a solution. If not, the country will face a big constitutional problem.”

Parliament’s Rules Committee meanwhile met last week and decided to remove six regulations from the General Regulations Act.

According to the Majlis secretariat, the committee also decided to extend the deadline for the remaining regulations to April 2013, following “consideration of legal opinion by the Attorney General’s Office.”

However, article 5(b) of the Act states that extensions must be approved by the Majlis and previous extensions were put for a vote on the floor.

Independent MP for Kulhudhufushi South, Mohamed ‘Kutti’ Nasheed, told the local daily today that failure to approve a further extension could disrupt services and raise questions of the legality of government functions.

As the regulations concerned a number of areas and would “directly affect” people from “various fields and arenas”, Nasheed said a sitting of parliament had to be held before Sunday “even for five minutes” to vote to approve an extension.

The formerly ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has meanwhile called for President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik and leaders of political parties represented in parliament to come to the negotiating table to resolve the ongoing political dispute.

A statement released by the MDP parliamentary group yesterday contended that in the wake of the “coup d’etat” on February 7, the Maldivian state, constitution, democracy and economy had “come to a halt.”

The party would cooperate with resuming parliament sittings after a compromise agreement is reached through dialogue, the statement said.

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PG to appeal corruption charges levied against Deputy Speaker Nazim

The Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office has appealed cases concerning the alleged involvement of Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim in defrauding the Atolls Development Ministry, in the purchase of 220 harbor lights worth Rf1.95 million (US$126,000) in 2004 to the High Court.

PG also stated that it would appeal the remaining three cases of corruption charges levied against the deputy speaker.

The case appealed by the state in the High Court concerns the Nazim’s use of equipment and employees of Namira Engineering while he was the company’s Managing Director to submit bids in the name of two companies called Tech Media Service Pvt Ltd and Standard Electric Works Pvt Ltd, to provide 220 harbor lights to the Atolls Ministry without the company’s prior knowledge in 2004.

The prosecutors requested the Criminal Court recover the money paid to Nazim for the supply of the goods, on the grounds he defrauded the ministry.

However, during the trial Nazim had submitted six witnesses to prove the companies were aware of the submission of bid and presented Saleem as a witness to establish that the ministry received the 220 harbor lights.

The prosecution meanwhile presented as evidence the police investigation report, cheques issued by the state and bogus letterheads found during a police raid on Namira Engineering in May 2009.

Further, the prosecutors presented employees of Namira as key witnesses to prove they were acting on Nazim’s orders.

However, Judge Saeed Ibrahim dismissed the testimonies of the prosecutor’s witnesses on the grounds that they were the employees who had prepared the fraudulent bid estimates which were submitted.

Even though the witnesses had told the court that they had prepared the bid estimates on Nazim’s order, the judge concluded that it does not mean Nazim had ordered them to prepare the bids fraudulently.

Judge Ibrahim also argued that the act of asking was not enough to prove criminal intent.

Therefore, in reference to article 51 of the constitution which guarantees the rights of the accused, the judge concluded that the charges cannot be filed against Nazim

An official from the PG confirmed to Minivan News about the decision to appeal, but refused to provide any further details.

Multiple counts

Deputy Speaker Nazim, who is also the Deputy Leader of government aligned party People’s Alliance (PA), along with MP Ahmed “Redwave” Saleem (then-finance director at the ministry) and Abdulla Hameed, former Atolls Minister and half brother of Gayoom, was charged in late 2009 on multiple counts of conspiracy to defraud the Atolls Ministry.

The scam – first flagged in an audit report released in early 2009 – involved paper companies allegedly set up by the defendants to win bids for projects worth several hundred thousand dollars, including the fraudulent purchase of harbor lights, national flags and mosque sound systems.

According to the report, the documents of Malegam Tailors, the company which won the bid, show that it shared the same phone number as Namira. Fast Tailors, another company that applied, also shared a different phone number registered under Namira.

The other company Needlework Tailors that submitted the bid had an employee of Namira sign the documents as the General Manager while the fourth company named “Seaview Maldives Private Maldives” did not have any record of its existence, according to the report.

However, the auditors noted that Searview bid documents had an exact date error found on Fast tailors documents, which according to the auditors prove same people had prepared both company’s bids.

The prosecution began in late 2009, after police uncovered evidence that implicated Hameed, Saleem and Nazim in a number of fraudulent transactions.

At a press conference in August 2009, police exhibited numerous quotations, agreements, tender documents, receipts, bank statements and forged cheques showing that Nazim received over US$400,000 in the scam.

A hard disk seized during a raid of Nazim’s office in May 2009 allegedly contained copies of forged documents and bogus letterheads.

Police maintained that money was channeled through the scam to Nazim who laundered cash through Namira Engineering and unregistered companies.

“Politically cleansed”

On February 23, 16 days after the controversial transfer of power on February 7, the Criminal Court dismissed three remaining counts of fraud against Nazim, stating that his “acts were not enough to criminalise him”.

All four cases against Nazim concerned public procurement tenders of the former Atolls Ministry secured through fraudulent documents and paper companies.

Criminal Court Judge Saeed Ibrahim on at the time ruled that two counts of fraud against Nazim – for setting up several paper companies to win a bid worth US$110,000, provide 15,000 national flags for the atolls ministry in 2003, and a similar tender worth US$92,412 to provide 15,000 national flags in 2005, could not be prosecuted.

The third count – conspiracy to defraud the ministry in 2003 in a similar manner to win a public tender for procuring US$115,758 worth of mosque sound systems – was also dismissed.

In an interview to the local media outlet Sun following the rulings, Nazim claimed the four cases were baseless and had been leveled at him by former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration, using false evidence.

He welcomed the ruling as a testimony to the existence of an independent judiciary: ”Today we are guaranteed of the existence of an independent and trustworthy judiciary. Former President Nasheed and the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) will now believe we have an independent judiciary, because they know that the four cases were schemed with manufactured evidence. These are are absolutely untrue and baseless cases.”

Following the dropping of the charges post-February 7, the MDP claimed that the courts rewarded Nazim by “politically cleansing” him from all the corruption charges, following the toppling the party’s government after it had attempted to reform the corrupt judiciary.

Minivan News tried contacting Nazim but he did not respond at the time of press.

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