The High Court, last week, denied the appeal request against the Civil Court's decision to freeze the accounts of Sun Travels and Tours.
Sun Travels lodged the appeal at the High Court on September 30.
Although the appellate court rejected the case, it is yet to give a reason for the decision.
The Civil Court's order to freeze the accounts of Sun Travels, which is owned by Maldives Development Alliance’s (MDA) leader and parliamentary representative of Dhaalu Atoll's Meedhoo MP Ahmed Siyam Mohamed, was issued on September 6 over the implementation of a verdict delivered on a case filed by renowned hotel chain Hilton International.
According to the lower court, the decision came after the High Court overturned a Civil Court ruling against Hilton International to pay USD 16.6 million in damages to Sun Travels, for violating an agreement between both parties to manage the Sun Siyam Iru Fushi Resort.
Sun Travels had awarded the management of Iru Fushi to the globally renowned Hilton International in 2009. The ongoing conflict between the two arose when the local firm later terminated the agreement in 2013, sixteen years before the contract matured, accusing Hilton of violating their terms by misrepresenting facts to influence the contract signing.
Hilton had filed a lawsuit against Sun Travels at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, which ruled in favour of the former and ordered Sun Travels to pay USD 26 million to Hilton as damages for contract termination.
Singapore's Court of Appeal, in February 2019, upheld the verdict of Singapore International Arbitration Centre ordering the Maldivian firm to pay the USD 26 million.
Sun Travels had then appealed the arbitration centre's decision at Maldives' Civil Court, which ruled in the local company's favour and ordered Hilton International to pay USD 16.6 million to Sun Travels as compensation for violating the terms of their agreement to manage Iru Fushi.
However, following this, Maldives' High Court on July 7 overturned the Civil Court's ruling against Hilton International to pay the USD 16.6 million to Sun Travels.
In its decision, the High Court had noted that according to the initial contract between Sun Travels and Hilton, disputes that arise between the two companies must be resolved through the Singapore International Arbitration Centre. Thus, the court moved to uphold the arbitration centre's findings that Sun Travels had failed to prove that the agreement was null.
Hilton has since filed the matter at Maldivian courts to impose the arbitration ruling after Sun Travels failed to settle the USD 26 million in damages.
The Civil Court's order in September, to freeze Sun Travels' accounts came months after Hilton filed to implement the arbitration centre's verdict.
Sign In
