Immigration officer Saheshan pleads guilty, sentenced for 2 months in prison

Immigration officer Hassan Saheshan has been sentenced to two months and three days in prison after pleading guilty to charges related to extorting money from an expatriate detained by the Maldives Immigration by abusing his official capacity.

Saheshan was charged with participating in abuse of official position and burglary. He entered a plea agreement with the state during the testimony stage of the trial and admitted guilt.

Criminal Court accepted the agreement and fast-tracked the case. Under the terms of the deal, the charge of participating in abuse of official capacity was withdrawn.

He was sentenced to two months and three days in prison and fined MVR 61,000. However, no additional jail time will be served as the period he spent in custody during the investigation has been deducted from the sentence.

Three other immigration officers charged in the case also pleaded guilty.

Officer Ibrahim Ahmed was sentenced to 11 months in prison. Ahmed Lassan received a nine-month sentence, while Mohamed Alsan Ismail was sentenced to two months and three days in prison and fined MVR 45,000 under a separate plea agreement.

The case also involves former immigration controller Mohamed Shamaan, who has pleaded not guilty. The testimony phase of his trial has concluded and he has since been released from custody.

Prosecutors allege that after an expatriate was detained by immigration authorities and later released, Ibrahim and other officers extorted more than MVR 500,000 from him and transported the money to Shamaan’s residence.

Police previously said the operation was carried out by immigration employees from sections other than the Immigration Task Force and Risk Management Unit, abusing their official authority. Investigators allege that an expatriate found with MVR 530,000 was released around midnight the following day on orders from Shamaan. Officers who had searched the expatriate’s residence are accused of later meeting him and transporting the money to the residence where Shamaan was staying.

The prosecution has entered plea agreements with Lassan and Alsan in connection with the same case.