High Court has dismissed the case filed by former State Minister of Housing, Akram Kamaaludheen, seeking to overturn the order to seize his passport.
Akram’s passport was confiscated under a Criminal Court order as part of an Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigation into the allocation of land and flats under the Binveriyaa and Gedhoruveriyaa Housing Scheme.
His lawyer had filed an appeal in High Court to revoke the order, but the court ruled yesterday that the case could not proceed. The High Court Registrar stated that the matter could instead be taken up in a lower court for review and debate.
Initially, Akram’s passport was withheld for one month starting December 20. However, on December 19, the Criminal Court extended the restriction for another month. Akram has claimed that his passport was seized and the extension was granted without him being questioned as part of the investigation.
In addition to Akram, the passports of former Senior Executive Directors Mohamed Arif and Lirugam Waheed, along with Director General Ahmed Vishan Naseem, were also seized.
Authorities are investigating claims that individuals were placed on the Binveriyaa and Gedhoruveriyaa list in violation of regulations. Documents were issued to them by officials of the previous administration said the six people who were questioned in the case.
Both Akram and Arif were senior officials in the special committee responsible for allocating flats and land under the previous government. ACC is preparing to forward the case to the Prosecutor General’s Office for prosecution.
Following a major probe into the allocation of the first 4,000 Binveriyaa flats, the ACC found that only 20 percent of recipients met the eligibility criteria set by the previous Housing Ministry.
As a result, the commission has recommended that the current Housing Ministry review the list. The ministry has now decided to reassess all applications submitted in the first round of the scheme, which amounts to over 20,000 forms.
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