Former Football Association of Maldives (FAM) President, Bassam Adeel Jaleel has been charged with fraud and money laundering.

The Prosecutor General's office said today that Bassam has been charged with embezzlement of money given to the FAM by various parties.

The PGO noted that from the American dollars being provided by FIFA to FAM, USD 10,000 was transferred to a BML account under Bassam's name.

"Although the documents submitted to the bank state 'sales of dollar' as the purpose of the deposit, it is not known that the Maldivian currency amounting to USD 9,999 was ever deposited in the FAM account. It is evident that the money was used for his own purposes," they said.

If convicted, Bassam faces one year, seven months, and six days in jail.

He is charged with money laundering for depositing USD 1,910 of the money into another individual;s BML account on September 2, 2018, and using it for Glacier Investment Pvt Ltd, a company in which Bassam has a stake as well as using USD 2,000 of the same money to pay his rent for Rehendhi Flat and using the money for his own purposes and transferring it to people not remotely associated with FAM.

If convicted, the charge carries a fine of between MVR 100,000 and MVR 1,000,000 and imprisonment or between five and 15 years in jail.

The PGO said the case is still under investigation and the office will decide on legal action against further transactions as the investigation unfolds. As the investigation into the additional sections is completed, those who should be prosecuted will be submitted to the court, they said.