MALE, Maldives: A Maldives court Tuesday cleared former vice president Ahmed Adeeb of embezzling $128 million to lease islets for tourism development, officially ending the high-profile legal saga. The main criminal court dismissed seven charges including embezzlement, money laundering and abuse of his position as tourism minister between 2014 and 2015. “The court refused to accept a confession he allegedly made about his role in leasing nearly 60 islets to private companies,” a court official said. The transactions were carried out when the-now 38-year-old was tourism minister and before he became vice president under strongman ruler Abdulla Yameen. Adeeb later fell out with Yameen, who accused him of trying to assassinate him following a September 2015 explosion aboard the presidential yacht. Adeeb was jailed for 15 years before being released after the dramatic fall of Yameen during a 2018 re-election bid. Yameen escaped the blast unscathed, but his wife and two others were slightly injured.
Liberal Justice Elena Kagan on Sept. 13, 2016. — Slate website WASHINGTON: U.S. Supreme Court justices, wading back...
A representational image of inmates behind jail bars. — Unsplash/FileMOSCOW: A Russian court on Wednesday ordered...
Sudanese soldiers guard the surrounding area of the UNMIS compound in El-Fasher, the administrative capital of North...
US quietly shipped ATACMS missiles to Ukraine. — Report news agencyWASHINGTON: The United States in recent weeks...
US President Joe Biden during his address in California. — AFP FileWASHINGTON: President Joe Biden signed a...
The World Meteorological Organisation flag. — AFP FileGENEVA: Global temperatures hit record highs last year, and...