Resident Magistrate Joji Boseiwaqa addressed the application by former Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum to consolidate charges against him and former Supervisor of Elections, Mohammed Saneem. Magistrate Boseiwaqa stated that he could not consider the arguments from both the Defense and the State since the case is currently being handled by Magistrate Yogesh Prasad.
Both defendants attended the court session, but Sayed-Khaiyum has been excused from the upcoming hearing scheduled for Tuesday. He faces a charge of abuse of office, which stems from a report filed by Supervisor of Elections, Ana Mataiciwa. The allegation against him is that between June 30 and July 12, 2022, while serving as Acting Prime Minister, he signed a Deed of Variation and Addendum between the Government and Saneem without proper authorization from the Constitutional Offices Commission and the President, regarding the payment of taxes for Saneem.
Saneem, on the other hand, is charged with one count of Receiving a Corrupt Benefit. It is alleged that between June 1 and July 31, 2022, while employed as Supervisor of Elections, he improperly requested and received a benefit of over $50,000 in deductible tax relief on his back pay from a senior Government official without lawful authority.