The High Court of the Maldives has rejected a request by Hussain Shifau to be transferred to house arrest while he serves a cumulative 109-year prison sentence for large-scale fraud and money laundering.

Shifau was sentenced by the Criminal Court in December last year after being found guilty of defrauding foreign companies using forged Telegraphic Transfers (TTs). The court heard that Shifau, operating through a business called ‘Kingdom of Fruits,’ imported goods from overseas but failed to make the required payments, resulting in a loss of approximately 1.9 million MVR.

In March, Shifau appealed his conviction and requested a stay of execution and bail-based house arrest. However, the High Court bench ruled today that there is no legal foundation to grant these requests, ordering that he remain in state custody.

His conviction includes seven counts of fraud, seven counts of money laundering, and nine counts of providing forged documents. The initial investigation revealed that the scams were conducted in collaboration with another individual using a business registered with the Ministry of Economic Development.