The second hearing of the money laundering trial against former President Abdulla Yameen ended today, with as many witnesses as possible to presented at the next hearing.

The hearing which lasted over four hours was once again overseen by Criminal Court Top Judge, Ahmed Hailam. He had presented the defendant, President Yameen to present his defense lawyers after beginning the hearing.

The defense had then proceeded to present former governor, Azima Adam as a witness along with a press release issued by Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) in relation to Al-Jazeera's documentary titled 'Stealing Paradise' as evidence.

Procedural issues raised by the defense include; Criminal Court's Top Judge presiding over the case instead of a bench, JSC investigating the Judge presiding the case along with errors in paperwork.

Raising questions about the justness of the trial, the defense noted that the JSC holds the right to suspend Judge Hailam - a commission which includes political appointees.

In response to that, Judge Hailam noted that he does not believe that it could influence the trial. He also added that the JSC had not informed him that he was being investigated for any case as of yet.

While the state had presented eight witnesses, the hearing today took witness statement from the President of ACC, Muavviz Rasheed.

In his statement, Muavviz had revealed how the MMPRC corruption investigation was carried out. He detailed on the findings of the ACC in the case where USD 1 million was deposited to an account belonging to President Yameen.

Two individuals and Judge Hailam had questioned Muavviz over his statement.

Following Muavviz's statement, Judge Hailam noted that arrangements should be made to take witness statements from as many as possible in the next hearing. He also added that should required, Muavviz will once again be summoned to the court.

However, a date for the third hearing of the trial was not announced.