Former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb has departed from Maldives five days after former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih commutated his prison sentence.
A source close to Adeeb confirmed that the former Vice President had traveled abroad but did not give any other details about his travels. It is unclear when he would return.
Ex-President Solih commutated the sentences of Adeeb as well as former MMPRC Managing Director Abdullah Ziyath last Monday.
Following his decision, Transparency Maldives said that the Presidential commutation sets a detrimental precedent for the rule of law and undermines efforts to combat corruption and kleptocracy.
It said that this is not only an abuse of the clemency and sentence commutation powers of the President, but represents the epitome of the protection, impunity, and privilege enjoyed by the political elite who abuse their positions of power and influence.
Both Adeeb and Ziyath have been serving long-term jail sentences after being convicted of several charges in relation to the MMPRC scandal and many label both as the chief architects of the million-dollar scandal.
Adeeb, who was also the former Tourism Minister, was accused of 7 offenses by the State and he had pled guilty to the charges. In 2020, the Criminal Court sentenced Adeeb to 20 years in jail and ordered him to pay a fine worth MVR 2 million.
Ziyath was sentenced to 32 years in jail for his part in the scandal.
