Former vice president Ahmed Adeeb has settled the MVR 1 million penalty due to the state following his money laundering conviction linked to the MMPRC corruption scandal.

On October 5, 2020, Adeeb received a 20-year prison sentence and a fine of MVR 2 million for his participation in the case. The Criminal Court’s judgment mandated that MVR 1 million of the penalty be paid to the state within a month from the sentencing date.

Since the payment was not completed within the designated timeframe, the state initiated a lawsuit in the Civil Court to reclaim the unpaid amount.

On Monday, the Civil Court wrapped up the case after observing that the state had acknowledged Adeeb paid the remaining balance the previous week. Court records indicate that Adeeb made a payment of MVR 100,000 for the fine in September of last year, and he completed the remaining payment of MVR 900,000 last week, resulting in a total payment of MVR 1 million.

The MMPRC controversy occurred under the leadership of former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had earlier estimated that the embezzlement resulted in losses of no less than MVR 1.5 billion to the government.

Adeeb obtained a lighter sentence through a plea deal negotiated with the state. Nonetheless, he stayed under house arrest for the entirety of his sentence due to health issues.

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the former president who took office promising to probe the scandal, issued a presidential pardon to Adeeb and former MMPRC Managing Director Abdulla Ziyath just before his presidential term ended.