The fresh conviction, delivered on Sunday, centres around the embezzlement of USD 1.2 million — funds provided by FIFA to FAM as a pandemic-era “COVID-19 Relief Loan” to aid struggling football clubs. Prosecutors revealed that instead of supporting the intended beneficiaries, Bassam funnelled these resources into the purchase of two luxurious penthouses from Amin Construction.

On Tuesday, the court sentenced Bassam to 15 years for money laundering and eight years for corruption, to be served consecutively.

Amin Construction, however, was acquitted of any wrongdoing.

Judge Mohamed Misbah’s ruling detailed how the funds were illicitly withdrawn from FAM’s account under the guise of currency exchange. A subsequent cheque, purportedly representing the converted sum, proved invalid — leaving the association’s coffers permanently depleted.

Bassam was ultimately found guilty of embezzling association funds and attempting to obscure the origins of the misappropriated money.

Bassam's defence argued that the disputed funds belonged to FIFA, claiming that only FIFA had jurisdiction over such matters — a position firmly rejected by the Maldivian courts.

Following the Criminal Court’s dismissal of this defence in November, Bassam’s appeal to the High Court was likewise rejected.

He remains incarcerated on earlier convictions — four years for corruption and five years for money laundering — in two separate cases.

These convictions originated from Bassam’s deposit of USD 10,000—transferred from FIFA to FAM’s Bank of Ceylon account—into his personal account in mid-2018. He maintained that the funds were exchanged for local currency but failed to return the equivalent value, and investigators later exposed a falsified paper trail.