The state has decided to appeal the Civil Court’s order to suspend the government’s decision to seize the domestic Kaadehdhoo Airport from its operator Villa Air.
The government had terminated the contract with Villa Air, a subsidiary of Villa Group belong to local tycoon and Jumhoory Party leader Qasim Ibrahim, due to some aspects of airport management violating the standards and regulations of Civil Aviation. Villa Air had filed a lawsuit over the broken contract and the Civil Court had ordered the government to halt its takeover of the airport until a verdict is reached.
Deputy Attorney General Ahmed Usham confirmed the decision to appeal the lower court’s temporary order. However, the state is yet to file the appeal.
Previously, Qasim had said that the airport was seized ahead of a major investment. According to Qasim, the airport was headed to an investment worth USD 200 million to convert it to an international Airport.
The government had notably in 2015 also taken back several islands and lagoons given to Qasim and fined him over MVR 1 billion. However, all the cases were concluded in favour of Qasim following lawsuits.
Sign In