Taking money given to leaders by well-wishers is not a crime: Yameen

Former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom told the Criminal Court on 13 October 2026 that it is not prohibited for well-wishers to provide financial assistance to a person in a position of leadership, and that the problem arises only when an illegitimate benefit is obtained in return for that money. He made the remarks at the hearing held at the Criminal Court to conclude the trial of charges brought by the state of bribery and money laundering linked to the lease of R. Fuggiri. The state raised a series of questions at the hearing. Noting that Yameen has maintained that the USD one million was money he obtained in order to exchange rufiyaa received through various means, the state questioned how he came to obtain such a large sum of money while holding the office of President. In response, Yameen said that although he did not engage in business in practice, he earned income from matters such as renting out houses, and that financial statements would make clear that he held a large amount of money even before he assumed office. Yameen further noted that well-wishers provide political financial assistance to a person in leadership with the aim of helping them secure a second term, that this is not money that must be collected into empty political parties, and that taking such money is not prohibited. On the matter of keeping a large amount of cash at home without depositing it in a bank, Yameen said that keeping money in a home where it can be kept safely is not a criminal offence under the law. Yameen's lawyers also raised questions over the credibility of the state's main witnesses in the case: former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb and former MMPRC Managing Director Abdullah Ziyath. Yameen's lead counsel and his former Vice President, Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, said that Adeeb and Ziyath are a "machine" used by the state to manufacture evidence against Yameen. He said the two are wrongdoers and that the Supreme Court has ruled that their testimony cannot be relied upon. Jameel also said that the state is working to isolate Yameen politically after releasing the actual perpetrators of the embezzlement. Another of Yameen's defence lawyers, Hamza Latheef, said that Adeeb and Ziyath gave their testimony under an agreement with the state under which they receive leniency, and that there is therefore no justice in that testimony. Hamza further said that the withdrawal of the charge against Crick Riza, who is alleged to have given the bribes, and the decision not to appeal the case in which the companies accused of facilitating money laundering were not found guilty, are actions carried out by the state in bad faith and aimed solely at Yameen. All hearings in the Fuggiri case concluded today. The judge hearing the case has announced that the verdict in the case will be delivered on the 29th of this month. Meanwhile, after the High Court annulled the sentence handed down against Yameen in the case concerning the lease of V. Aara, that case is now also proceeding again at the Criminal Court.