Former Football Association of Maldives (FAM) President Bassam Adeel Jaleel has appealed the four-year prison sentence for embezzlement handed down by the Criminal Court to the High Court of Maldives. Bassam is currently serving a total of 32 years in prison for various cases, which include two counts of money laundering and two counts of embezzlement.

The case submitted to the High Court concerns the misuse of funds provided by FIFA to FAM between July and August 2018 for personal purposes, during Bassam’s tenure as FAM President (a position he held starting in 2016). It was proven in court that out of the funds deposited into the FAM account at the Bank of Ceylon, 10,000 US dollars were transferred to Bassam’s personal account and utilized by him.

While a four-year prison sentence was issued for the crime of embezzlement in this case, a money laundering charge raised in connection to the same incident was also proven, resulting in an additional five-year prison sentence and a fine of MVR 154,000 against Bassam.

High Court registry records indicate that the appeal against the embezzlement verdict issued by the lower court last October was submitted during the past week. However, the High Court has not yet made a decision on whether to accept the case. Additionally, a 23-year prison sentence was previously issued against Bassam in two separate cases where he was proven to have embezzled funds sent by FIFA as COVID-19 relief loans intended for clubs.