Hassan Mamdhooh (Mandey), charged with fraud involving the selling of flats from K Park Residence, has been released by court after earlier having placed him in remand in custody until the end of trial.
Mamdhooh, a shareholder of Hanbo Company, developer of K Park Residence, is facing 100 charges related to the case. However, hearings in the case, which commenced in July last year, have not been held regularly.
The most prevalent reason for cancellation of hearings is Mamdhooh's failure to attend. On many instances, he has refused to attend hearings, at times presenting letters from doctors as a reason.
In a hearing on June 23, Judge Ali Nadheem said that the doctor's letter did not state any condition which would prevent Mamdhooh from attending court. He further said that various persons had informed the court of seeing Mamdhooh out and about on days when he had notified the court that he could not attend due to health reasons.
Citing Mamdhooh's failure to cooperate, the Judge ruled that he be held in remand in custody until the end of trial.
However, a Prosecutor General's Office official said that Mamdhooh has been released from custody today on condition that he attends all future hearings in the case. The PG Office stated that if circumstances arise suggesting he may influence witnesses or attempt to flee, they will seek a renewed custody order.
It has been reported that the next hearing in the K Park case is expected to be held in late August. Witness statements from thirteen individuals remain pending, with most presently out of the country.
Prosecutor General's Office has pressed 50 counts of misrepresentation for illicit benefits and another 50 counts of fraud, and three counts of forgery and one count of money laundering against Mamdhooh. This is the highest number of charges brought against a person in Maldives as of yet.
Additionally, the state is pressing 95 charges against Jaishan Saeed from Raa Atoll Alifushi, which includes 20 counts of misrepresentation, 27 counts of aiding misrepresentation, and 47 counts of fraud along with one count of aiding money laundering.
