Additional charges against Bassam in FAM corruption case

Bassam Adeel Jaleel, the embattled former president of the Football Association of Maldives (FAM), has been pressed with additional charges on Sunday.

Bassam is implicated in several cases of embezzlement and money laundering with respect to funds issued to FAM by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). In this regard, these funds have allegedly been transferred to various accounts belonging to senior FAM officials, as well as accounts of individuals and companies connected to these officials.

Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO), on Sunday, said Bassam has been pressed with two additional charges.

One of the charges pertains to the embezzlement of USD 120,000 issued by FIFA to purchase an apartment from Amin Avenue.

If convicted, Bassam faces a prison sentence of one year, seven months and six days.

The second charge, a money laundering charge, involves an agreement to purchase an eight-bedroom, 10-bathroom penthouse on the 12th and 13th floors of Amin Avenue Block A, under which a payment of MVR 25,000,000 including GST, booking, and commitment fees, was settled with funds transferred to the accounts of various other companies from FAM’s USD account.

If convicted, Bassam faces a prison sentence of five to 15 years and a fine between MVR 100,000 and MVR 1,000,000. 

PGO is also seeking USD 1,200,000 from Bassam as compensation for the losses incurred to FAM due to the corruption and the seizure of the penthouse owned by Bassam at Amin Avenue which was allegedly purchased with the funds laundered from FAM.

According to PGO, they are currently preparing to press charges against FAM staff implicated in these cases. As the case is under investigation in collaboration with Maldives Police Service, PGO said they will be filing additional charges based on further developments. 

Bassam was charged in connection to the FAM corruption case on January 21^st. Hearings in the case are presently underway at Criminal Court.