Former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb pleads guilty to all 7 charges filed against him in the MMPRC graft case and has begged for forgiveness from the nation.
This came after the Criminal Court held the first hearing of his retrial today after the High Court had deemed that the lower court had failed to follow the correct legal procedure when it rejected all seven charges before and acquitted the ex-VP earlier this year.
The presiding Judge had read all seven charges filed against Adeeb and had given the former VP a chance to make his case at the hearing.
He used this chance to plead guilty for all seven charges and urged the court to first-tract the case as soon as possible.
Adeeb went onto say that he had already spent five years in jail in relation to these charges and that he now regrets all the bad decisions he has made.
Adeeb said he has now repented for the crimes he had committed in the past and that he begs forgiveness from the state and its nation for all the wrong he had done by misusing the power and authority he once had.
The former VP said this current regime had the capability to fully unravel the MMPRC graft case and that there is some information that would never be uncovered if he remained silent.
Adeeb also said all those involved in one of the biggest scams reported in the country must be brought to justice and that no exceptions should be made.
He explained that the funds from the corruption scam had reached all the corners of the political world and this includes former presidents, former MPs, former Cabinet Ministers, top officials at state institutions as well as independent institutions.
Adeeb also said that former President Abdullah Yameen and his administration had planned to use the illegal funds from the MMPRC scam for political activities and the opposition PPM had directly used the funds from the scam. Adeeb also said that the funds were used to pay off officials from independent institutions, the courts, and MPs to fix parliamentary votes.
The Former VP said he believed that helping retrieve the lost funds was now his civic duty and he would give his full cooperation to the government in its purse to seek the stolen money. He added that he is making these statements sound of mind and that he has not coerced to make them.
The presiding judge said today that the court will adhere to the 15-day remand sentence given to the ex-VP by the High Court and would work to fast-track the case by scheduling a hearing for next Monday.
Identified as a key suspect in the MMPRC scandal, the state has charged the former VP with two counts of embezzlement, unlawful influence to obtain an unfair advantage, and misuse of his official capacity as well as two counts of money laundering.
