Former Maldives president sentenced to 5 years in prison

MALE, Maldives: A court in the Maldives on Thursday found the country’s former president guilty of money laundering and sentenced him to five years in prison.

The five-member Criminal Court bench also ordered Yameen Abdul Gayoom to pay a $5 million fine.

In its ruling, the court found Yameen guilty of laundering $1 million in state money for personal gain during his presidency.

Yameen led the Indian Ocean archipelago state from 2013 to 2018. During that time he was accused of corruption, muzzling the media and persecuting political opponents.

He lost last year’s election to current President Ibrahim Mohammad Solih.

Maldives is known for its luxury resorts with white sand beaches.