Tourism Ministry announced to clarify if any debt pertaining to a lagoon, which is among the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) Corruption scandal to change its ownership.
The ministry said in the announcement they had received a request by the current owner of the lagoon, wishing to transfer all rights granted to them under the existing leasing agreement. The ministry has therefore requested any party with a debt or existing issue related to the lagoon to inform the ministry of the matter within a 14 day period.
Mihaaru news reported that it was Sunny Holdings, a Singaporean company involved in the MMPRC Corruption, that had requested to change the lease agreement. It is not yet clear who the new owner of the lagoon would be.
The lagoon in question, is one near Kaafu Maafushi, was leased to be developed into a resort.
The ministry had previously said that the lagoon was given to Sunny Holdings before the company was even created or established. However, the then Attorney General had requested to proceed with the lease agreement even if this was the case.
The previous administration had leased over 30 lagoons in Maldives to be developed into resorts. This includes lagoons related to the MMPRC Corruption, worth over MVR 3 billion.
According to a report released by the Auditor General's Office in 2015, MMPRC owes MVR 1.5 billion to the Tourism Ministry. However, the figures mentioned in the report have not been verified.
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