The Court of Maldives has ruled that the state cannot proceed with the case filed by the state seeking $5 million from the opposition party leader, President Yameen.

On December 25 last year, the Criminal Court had found President Yameen guilty of two charges in connection with the Island case. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison and fined $5 million by a criminal court. After the Attorney General’s Office filed a complaint with the Civil Court alleging that he had not paid the amount, the court ruled in the case yesterday.

President Yameen has appealed to the Maldives High Court against the verdict of the Criminal Court in the Island case.

In its ruling, the Civil Court noted that president Yameen had requested the High Court to stay the payment of the fine, following an appeal filed by the AG’s office seeking the execution of the $5 million fine. The high court order said that till the proceedings in the high court are concluded, if any case has been filed in the court for recovery of the money, then no attempt should be made by MIRA or any other state agency to recover the amount by any other means.

Therefore, the Civil Court has concluded that since the high court is unable to predict the exact date on which the high court will conclude its hearings and pronounce the verdict, and if the high court upholds the judgment of the trial court, then the state has the right to seek an order to recover the amount, there is no need to proceed with the case in the civil court until the case in the high court is disposed of.

For these reasons, the Civil Court held that the state’s plea seeking the implementation of the part of the money contained in the judgment could not proceed as there was no reason to proceed with it now.

While the hearings on President Yameen’s appeal in the Island case have slowed down considerably and the case has been prolonged, the opposition has alleged that the case has not progressed at a reasonable pace so far due to the current government’s interference.