Former Football Association of Maldives (FAM) president Bassam Adeel Jaleel has filed an appeal against his conviction and prison sentences related to the embezzlement of FAM funds.

Bassam was sentenced to a combined total of 32 years in prison across four cases, comprising two counts of money laundering and two counts of fraud.

The Criminal Court found that Bassam transferred USD 10,000 from FIFA funds deposited in FAM’s Bank of Ceylon account into his personal account between July and August 2018. He was also convicted of money laundering in the same case, receiving a five-year prison sentence and a fine of MVR 154,000.

Bassam’s lawyer filed an appeal with the High Court of the Maldives on 5 January. The High Court has yet to decide whether the appeal will be accepted for hearing.

In a separate case, Bassam was convicted over the embezzlement of funds provided by FIFA to FAM as COVID-19 relief loans intended for distribution to football clubs. In that matter, the court found him guilty of fraud and money laundering and sentenced him to a combined total of 23 years in prison, in addition to a fine of MVR 44.7 million.