PPM submits motion to urge withdrawal of charges against Yameen

Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has submitted a motion to the Parliament to urge the Prosecutor General to withdraw and revise the money laundering charge against former Maldivian President and Leader of PPM, Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom.

The motion was submitted to the Parliament under Article 142 of Parliament Regulations by Naifaru MP Ahmed Shiyam.

Shiyam’s motion says Yameen’s arrest is unjust, unconstitutional and arbitrary and based on a political agenda. And that the money laundering charge against him is a criminal charge pressed in a civil case using undue political influence.

The motion also alleges the arrest of the opposition leader so close to the parliamentary elections is a deliberate attempt by the Maldivian government to influence the outcome of the elections and destroy the opposition.

Yameen was charged with money laundering and providing false testimony to State institutions following Maldives Police Service’s investigation into the USD 1 million - believed to be embezzled funds in the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) scam – deposited to his account at the Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) by SOF Private Limited.

He was arrested pending the outcome of his trial on February 18 following review of evidence submitted by the State to show he attempted to tamper with the State’s witnesses in the case by offering them bribes.

The motion called Yameen’s arrest for witness tampering as a “despicable act of slander”.

“Motion submitted under Article 142 of Parliament Regulations to urge the Prosecutor General to withdraw and revise the political charge pressed against former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom by the Prosecutor General,” reads the last sentence of the motion.