Lassaan, arrested alongside Shamman, receives light sentence after entering plea agreement

One of the individuals arrested alongside former Controller General of Immigration Mohamed Shamman Waheed for allegedly misusing their official capacity to illicitly profit from expatriates has been given a lighter sentence after entering a plea agreement.

Police arrested five people, including Shamman, for allegedly misusing their official capacity to illicitly profit from expatriates on March 21^st. The prosecution filed charges against all five of them in May.

They are:

• Mohamed Alsan Ismail, 21, Moonimaage, Th. Buruni
• Mohamed Shamaan Waheed, 36, G. Litonia, K. Male’
• Ibrahim Ahmed, 37, G. Happyside, K. Male’
• Hassan Saheshan, 47, G. Happyside, K. Male’
• Ahmed Lassaan, 40, M. Hazaaree Villa, K. Male’

The individual who entered into a plea agreement is Lassaan who was charged with misuse of official capacity and robbery.

He pled guilty to both charges and entered into a plea agreement with the prosecution, resulting in a lighter sentence.

In this regard, Lassaan was sentenced to two months and 12 days in prison in connection with the charge on misuse of official capacity. He was also fined by MVR 14,000, to be paid within six months.

Meanwhile, he was sentenced to seven months and six days in prison in connection with the charge on robbery and fined by MVR 14,000.

As Lassaan was in custody before the ruling in the case was delivered, the days he was in custody will be omitted from the time he spends in prison.

The ruling in the case was delivered by Judge Ibrahim Ihsan.

Shamman, who was arrested in the case, has been remanded in custody pending the outcome of his trial.

According to the Police, an investigation uncovered that a group of Immigration officers working in sections other than the taskforce or the risk management section – who are usually involved in identifying and detaining irregular expatriates – abused their authority to raid a migrant accommodation building.

Multiple expatriates were detained with large amounts of cash in the raid.

Investigators found that a day after, one of the expatriates – who was taken into custody with MVR 530,000 in cash - was released from detention at midnight on orders from Shamaan.

The officers involved in the raid met with the expatriate on the street, took the money from him, and entered the building where Shamman residences carrying the money.

While Shamman maintains his innocence, Police have said it had collected plausible evidence to reasonably prove Shamman’s offenses, and noted that the over half million in Maldivian currency discovered in the former Controller General’s home was misappropriated from an expatriate released from Immigration’s detention on his order.