Bassam Jailed for 23 Years, Fined MVR 44m Over FIFA COVID-19 Funds

The Criminal Court has sentenced former Football Association of Maldives (FAM) president Bassam Adeel Jaleel to 23 years in prison for fraud and money laundering linked to the misuse of COVID-19 relief funds provided by FIFA.

Bassam was found guilty of embezzling and laundering US$1.2 million sent by FIFA to the FAM as a relief loan for football clubs affected by the pandemic. The ruling follows a hearing held to determine sentencing after the court found him guilty of the charges last Sunday.

Bassam is already serving a nine-year prison term for earlier convictions related to fraud and money laundering. With the latest sentence, his total prison term now stands at 32 years.

In addition to the custodial sentence, the court ordered Bassam to pay a fine of MVR 44 million to the state. He was also instructed to repay the US$1.2 million to the civil court within six months, after the court ruled that the funds rightfully belonged to the FAM.

Delivering the verdict, Judge Mohammed Misbah said the fraud committed by the former FAM president had plunged the organisation into serious financial difficulty. The judgement noted that the association was forced to take out multiple loans to pay staff salaries as a result of the losses.

The court increased the sentence for the fraud charge, ruling that the severity of the offence warranted a harsher punishment. While the basic sentence for the fraud conviction was one year and seven months, the judge increased it by three degrees to eight years. Bassam was also handed the maximum sentence of 15 years for money laundering and fined five times the amount laundered. The total fine imposed amounted to MVR 44.7 million.

The prosecution alleged that Bassam had used the misappropriated funds to purchase two penthouses at Amin Avenue. However, in a separate ruling delivered today, the Criminal Court found that money laundering charges against Amin Construction had not been proven, citing insufficient evidence that the company had facilitated the laundering of FAM funds. As a result, the charges against the company were dismissed.

Bassam previously lived in an apartment created by combining the two penthouses, which he was ordered to hand over to police under an earlier court order. The prosecution initially sought to seize the apartment but later withdrew the request after failing to prove that the property was purchased using the misappropriated funds.

The court found, however, that MVR 5.7 million paid by Bassam towards the apartment within a 61-day period constituted laundered money. Judge Misbah ordered the prosecution to determine the whereabouts of the funds and submit a separate order to recover the money on behalf of the state.