Civil Court has ruled that former Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) leader Mohamed Nasheed (Colonel) must pay MVR 4 million in outstanding debt, a decision he says was made without due consideration of key factors.
The debt stems from services provided between 2007 and 2009 by two production companies operated by Amir, which handled videotaping, editing and equipment for DRP activities.
Although the original claim included a fine of MVR 16.3 million, the High Court previously ruled that only the service charge could be recovered, striking out additional penalties. The Supreme Court later upheld that decision.
Amir’s lawyer subsequently filed an enforcement case at the Civil Court to recover the outstanding amount. While proceedings were ongoing, the DRP was dissolved after failing to meet the legal requirements to remain registered as a political party.
Under the Political Parties Act, the highest-ranking official of a political party can be held personally liable for its debts. At the time of the party’s dissolution, Nasheed was serving as its leader. The work in question, however, had been commissioned during former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom’s tenure as DRP leader.
Despite this, the Civil Court ruled that Nasheed, as the party’s last leader, was responsible for settling the debt. He was ordered, in absentia, to pay MVR 4 million within 14 days.
Speaking to Mihaaru News today, Nasheed said he respected the court’s verdict but maintained that relevant considerations had not been taken into account.
“There will be no debt accumulated while I am there. There had been nothing borrowed at my time. There is nothing I have taken on loan in DRP’s name. No work has been done on credit,” he said.
In its ruling, the Civil Court noted that the High Court had already established the existence of the debt owed to Amir. The Elections Commission had also informed the court, in writing, that Nasheed was liable under the law.
The Political Parties Act requires a party to designate an individual to be personally responsible for goods or services obtained on credit and to notify the supplier accordingly. The party must also inform the Elections Commission within five days of the transaction, confirming both the agreement and the individual designated as liable.
However, when DRP entered into transactions with Amir in 2009, such provisions were not yet in force.
Once the country’s largest political party, the DRP split in 2011 amid internal disputes and was left with millions of rufiyaa in accumulated debt. The Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) had also sought to hold former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom personally liable for a MVR 1.1 million debt owed by the party, though that case was later withdrawn.
