The Criminal Court has granted permission to amend the charges filed against former President of the Football Association of Maldives (FAM), Bassam Adil Jaleel.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, Bassam is facing charges of money laundering and embezzlement involving funds provided to the association by various individuals during his tenure. He is accused of embezzling USD 1.2 million from FAM, which was allegedly used to purchase an apartment at Ameen Avenue under Ameen Construction.

The offence carries a prison sentence of one year, seven months, and six days. Ameen Construction has also been charged with money laundering in connection with the transaction, which involved MVR 23 million, including booking and commitment fees. If found guilty, the offence carries a fine of between MVR 100,000 and MVR 1 million and a prison term of five to 15 years.

The Prosecutor General’s Office has requested the state to recover USD 1.2 million in damages from Bassam and to seize the two Ameen Avenue apartments allegedly acquired with the laundered funds.

During the hearing held today, State Attorney Ahmed Shafeeu noted that Bassam had embezzled more than MVR 500,000, which makes it a third-degree offence under Article 210(b) of the Penal Code — punishable by three years, two months, and 12 days in prison. He added that a human error had caused the original charge to cite the wrong penalty clause and requested permission to correct it.

However, Bassam’s defence lawyers objected to the amendment, arguing that the request was made too late and that such an oversight by the state could not be justified.

Judge Mohamed Misbah, who presided over the case, ruled that the state would be allowed to amend the charge under Article 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Bassam is currently serving a four-year prison sentence after being found guilty of embezzlement in a separate case. If convicted of the money laundering charge, he faces an additional prison term of up to 15 years and a fine of up to MVR 1 million.