Ex-Maldives leader gets 11 years for money laundering, bribe

MALE, Maldives (AP) — A court in Maldives has found the former president guilty of money laundering and accepting a bribe and sentenced him to 11 years in prison. The Criminal Court of Maldives also ordered Abdulla Yameen to pay a fine of $5 million. The court found Yameen guilty of accepting money for leasing an island owned by the government. He ruled the Indian ocean archipelago nation, known as an exclusive tourist destination, from 2013 to 2018. This was not the first time Yameen was found guilty. In a separate case in 2019, Yameen was found guilty of money laundering and sentenced to five years in prison. Two years later, the Supreme Court overturned the verdict.