Settlement committee acted in favor of the state: Saudhulla

The owner of Swift Engineering and Parliament Member for Thinadhoo North constituency, Saudulla Hilmee, stated that the decision by the government of former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih (Ibu) to grant his company projects equal to the value of its compensation, instead of cash, was a significant benefit to the state.

In a Facebook post, Saudhulla Hilmee- a member of the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) claimed that six projects undertaken by Swift during former president Abdulla Yameen’s administration had been unlawfully terminated.

Saudhulla said that when he was summoned before the Solih administration's Settlement Committee to seek compensation for the losses incurred from the seizure of those projects, he requested that instead of a cash settlement, his company be given new projects equal in value to the ones that were terminated.

"Therefore, Swift was not paid any cash as compensation. However, out of the six terminated projects, five new projects were awarded to match the value of four of the original projects. No cash or projects were given as compensation for the remaining two projects," he stated.

"This action resulted in a benefit for the state. If the case had gone to court, Swift would have been awarded a large sum."

Saudhulla's Facebook post comes after the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) ordered former Economic Minister and opposition MDP Chairperson Fayyaz Ismail to appear for questioning regarding the compensation given to Swift Engineering.

The ACC order requires Fayyaz to appear at the commission's office at 9:30 AM next Monday.

According to the summons, Fayyaz is accused of abusing his official position as a member of the Dispute Resolution Committee in 2019 to grant Swift Engineering inadequate compensation and obtain an undue benefit for the company. The ACC also alleges that this action resulted in a matter that should have benefited the state acting otherwise.