Immigration Corruption Case: Former Officer Alsan Jailed for Nine Months

A former Maldives Immigration officer has been sentenced to nine months and 18 days in prison for misusing his official position in a corruption case involving payments from a foreign national.

The Criminal Court found Alsan Ismail guilty after he entered into a plea agreement with the Prosecutor General’s Office, having initially denied the charge of abuse of official capacity.

advertisement

advertisement

advertisement

According to the court’s judgment, the case stems from a raid conducted on the night of 11 March 2025. The Criminal Court’s verdict on Sunday stated that the operation was carried out without the authorisation of Maldives Immigration and without an official permit, in breach of established procedures. 

Alsan was arrested in connection with the raid alongside then-Immigration Controller Shamman Waheed and three other officials.

In its ruling, the Criminal Court sentenced Alsan to nine months and 18 days in prison under the Criminal Procedure Code. However, the court ordered that two months and three days of that sentence be commuted to a fine of MVR 45,000. He has been instructed to pay the fine within one year.

In addition to Alsan and Shamman, three other suspects were arrested over the same incident.

One of them, Ahmed Lassan, had previously been convicted on the same charge. Four months ago, he received a sentence of two months and 12 days in prison and a fine of MVR 14,400. In a separate case, he was later sentenced to a further seven months and six days in prison for larceny, along with an additional fine of MVR 14,400.

Shamman remains in custody pending the outcome of his trial. He has not yet been convicted, and the charges against him are still before the court.