Former Controller General of Immigration Mohamed Shamaan Waheed has officially contested his 25-year prison sentence at the High Court.

In June, the Criminal Court sentenced Shamaan to a total of 25 years in prison after convicting him of three crimes: being an accomplice to extortion theft, abusing his power for personal gain, and laundering money. The situation pertained to the arrest of a group of foreign laborers in an unlawful scheme conducted with the help of multiple Immigration staff, where MVR 530,000 was extracted from one individual.

Even though the appeal has been submitted to the High Court, it is still uncertain if the court has officially approved the cases for review.

Shamaan’s family had claimed that his detention was a proactive action by officials intended to stop him from revealing details about supposed corruption linked to Home Minister Ali Ihusaan. The family additionally alleged that the Minister attempted to have Shamaan arrested upon discovering that Shamaan had a damaging video featuring him.

The extended prison term was imposed on a day when Shamaan attended court following serious claims against the current administration.

Ex-president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom called the 25-year sentence an unfair and excessive political decision. Former Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail also stated that the harshness of the sentence was a direct result of Shamaan's supposed revelation of the inner workings of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration.