Bassam appeals four-year prison sentence on corruption charge

Bassam Adeel Jaleel, the former president of the Football Association of Maldives (FAM), has appealed a four-year prison sentence against him over a corruption conviction.

Bassam is currently serving a 32-year prison sentence in connection with two charges of money laundering and two charges of corruption in two separate cases.

He appealed the four-year prison sentence imposed for the corruption conviction related to the transfer of USD 10,000 from FIFA to FAM’s account at the Bank of Ceylon, which was later moved into his personal account between July and August 2018. Bassam claimed the funds were exchanged for Maldivian Rufiyaa, but failed to return the equivalent amount. Investigators later uncovered a fabricated paper trail suggesting the exchange had taken place.

Bassam was sentenced to five years in prison and fined by MVR 154,000 for money laundering in the same case.

According to High Court’s registry, the ruling delivered in October was appealed by Bassam last week. The appellate court has yet to decide whether to accept the appeal or not.

Meanwhile, Bassam was sentenced to 23 years in prison following his conviction on corruption and money laundering charges over the embezzlement of USD 1.2 million (over MVR 18 million) issued to FAM by FIFA, and its misuse, on January 6^th. According to the prosecution,  the USD 1.2 million consisted of funds provided by FAM as a “COVID-19 Relief Loan” intended to support football clubs experiencing financial difficulties due to the pandemic.