Yameen’s MMPRC Trials Resume After Nearly a Year

The Criminal Court has resumed proceedings in the corruption and money-laundering cases against former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, following a hiatus of nearly a year.

The cases stem from the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) scandal and concern transactions involving the leases of V. Aarah and R. Fuggiri. Former MP Yoosuf Naeem is also charged alongside Yameen in the V. Aarah case.

In the V. Aarah case, the Criminal Court previously convicted Yameen and sentenced him to 11 years in prison. The High Court subsequently overturned the conviction and ordered a retrial, while directing the Criminal Court to exclude certain prosecution evidence admitted during the original proceedings.

The disputed evidence includes attendance records concerning defence witness Ahmed Nareesh from his time at the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), as well as minutes from meetings of the Economic and Youth Council, a Cabinet committee at the time.

Nareesh, a former Deputy Mayor of Malé and the current adviser to the Youth Minister, previously testified during the V. Aarah trial that he personally counted MVR15 million in cash at Yameen’s residence, the local-currency equivalent of the alleged USD 1 million bribe and handed the money to former MP Yoosuf Naeem as part of a currency exchange transaction.

Yameen’s defence team also listed Nareesh as a potential witness in the R. Fuggiri case on similar grounds. Nareesh, however, subsequently notified the Criminal Court that he did not wish to testify. He said on social media that he was unwilling to give evidence in a matter about which he did not have direct knowledge, citing his religious convictions.

State prosecutors appealed the High Court’s decision to the Supreme Court, arguing that the exclusion of the evidence had unlawfully restricted the prosecution’s case.

On 1 July 2026, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal and upheld the High Court’s ruling, confirming that the disputed evidence cannot be introduced during the retrial.

A pre-trial hearing in the V. Aarah case commenced today to prepare for the retrial under the evidentiary parameters established by the courts. 

The separate R. Fuggiri case has reached the stage of evaluating evidence and hearing closing arguments.

A hearing scheduled for 23 September 2026 was postponed after state prosecutors requested its cancellation because one of the attorneys involved in the case was on medical leave.