The Criminal Court has sentenced an Indian man to a fine of MVR 12,000 and ordered the seizure of over a hundred thousand dollars and more than half a hundred thousand euros that he attempted to smuggle out of the Maldives. The state had charged the man with attempting to secretly export goods from the Maldives.
On the night of September 2nd at 21:30, as the man was going to Velana Airport to board a UL flight to Colombo, a large amount of foreign currency was detected in his duffle bag at the security checkpoint area before boarding, after he had completed check-in. Upon scanning and searching his duffle bag and backpack, 14 envelopes containing money wrapped in clothes were found in his duffle bag.
The envelopes found in his duffle bag contained $104,977.00, €31,585.00, 180 Francs, and 100 Dirhams. Additionally, seven envelopes containing money wrapped in clothes were found in his backpack, which contained $32,395.00 and €18,790.00. As he attempted to secretly export this money from the Maldives without declaring it to Customs, the state requested the court to order the seizure of the money by Customs. A plea agreement was signed between him and the Prosecutor General’s Office in this case. The case was processed as a summary hearing, and he was fined MVR 12,000. He was ordered to pay the fine to MIRA within two months.
The court also ordered the seizure by Customs of $137,372 and €50,373 found in the two bags, along with other currencies.
