Today, the Attorney General’s Office announced the invalidity of nine agreements made by the Settlement Committee formed under the previous administration at the President’s Office. These agreements involved over one billion rufiyaa in compensation distributed to various entities through state money and property.
The Attorney General’s Office revealed that these agreements, established in November 2022, have been deemed unnecessary for enforcement by Attorney General Ahmed Usham. Relevant state institutions have been notified of this decision.
The invalidated agreements include:
1. Leisure Beach Private Limited: Lease extension for V. Foththeyobodufushi.
2. Umet Construction Private Limited: Compensation of 26 million rufiyaa.
3. Exotic Properties Private Limited: Lease of N. Ekulhivaru for 99 years.
4. Dheebaja Investment: Compensation of 64 million rufiyaa.
5. Amsan & Food Beverage Private Limited: Compensation of 5.1 million rufiyaa.
6. Slia Sands Private Limited: Lease of Th. Vanbadi, Kani, and Fushi for 50 years and AA. Maafarufalu.
7. Blue Lagoon Investment: Lease of AA. Madoogali for 50 years and land from R. Villingili, R. Thaavathaa, R. Orimasfaru for 50 years in exchange for $20 million compensation.
8. Abdullah Ali, H. Giritherege: Lease of HDh. Hondaafushi for 50 years with a waiver of rent and fines.
9. JH Resorts Private Limited: Lease of HDh. Kuda Muraidhoo for 50 years with a waiver of previous rent and fines.
The current administration abolished the previous government’s policy last November and referred the compensation cases to the Attorney General’s Office for evaluation.
Upon review, it was determined that the prior policy contravened both the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives and legal statutes, leading to arbitrary decision-making absent of the Attorney General’s input and resulting in unjust enrichment for certain parties.
Consequently, the Attorney General has declared that these nine settlement agreements from the former presidential term are not legally binding, are invalid, and should not be enforced, as conveyed in a statement by the Attorney General’s Office.
The total compensation initially allocated amounts to 95.1 million rufiyaa.
