Found guilty of corruption and money laundering, a criminal court in the Maldives has sentenced former President Abdulla Yameen to 11 years in prison with a USD 5 million fine.

Local media reported that as long as the conviction of accepting bribes and money laundering through the lease transaction of Vaavu atoll Aarah remains in force, the opposition leader, who ruled the country from 2013 to 2018, will also lose his chance to contest in the 2023 presidential election.

Yameen was earlier sentenced to five years in jail and fined US$ 5 million in 2019 for embezzling $1 million in state funds. He was, however, released by the country’s Supreme Court last year.

This time, the prosecution had asked for a 19-year prison sentence; of which eight years are for bribery charges and 11 years for money laundering with a fine of USD 5 million.

According to Maldives’ news outlet, The Edition, Chief Judge Ahmed Shakeel sentenced him to four years in jail for bribery and seven years for money laundering.

Yameen, who denied the charges and is likely to appeal the judgment, has also been accused of reinvigorating the ‘India Out’ campaign as the archipelagic nation gets ready for the 2023 presidential elections.

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