Bassam Adeel Jaleel, the former president of the Football Association of Maldives (FAM), has surrendered two luxury apartments in Hulhumale’ as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged embezzlement of funds. The apartments, located in the Amin Avenue complex, are believed to have been purchased using money embezzled from the FAM.

On Wednesday, Bassam handed over the apartments—located at Hulhumale lot number N2-25, Block A, apartments A1205 and A1206—to the police, as per their instructions. The handover came after an extension was granted, giving Bassam an additional 24 hours to comply with the original deadline.

The police investigation revealed that in 2021, Bassam embezzled USD 1 million from a USD 1.9 million loan provided by FIFA to support football clubs during the Covid-19 pandemic. He allegedly used the stolen funds to purchase the two apartments from Amin Construction, the developer of Amin Avenue. Payments for the apartments were made in three installments.

Authorities also discovered a fabricated paper trail that falsely documented the transfer of an equivalent amount in Maldivian Rufiyaa to FAM's bank account, attempting to cover up the embezzled funds.

Bassam, along with former FAM finance head Mohamed Aqeel and ex-FAM official Hassan Waheed (Dhona), faces charges of embezzlement, fraud, and money laundering. Amin Construction is also implicated in the case.

In June 2023, FIFA suspended Bassam for nine months due to the allegations. The police launched a formal investigation into FAM on October 22, 2023, under orders from then-prosecutor general Hussain Shameem. Bassam has consistently denied the accusations.

Further charges are pending as the police continue their investigation into corruption within the FAM.