The appeal regarding the MVR 4 million debt accrued by the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) that is to be paid by the most recent leader of the party Mohamed Nasheed has been rejected.
The DRP is yet to pay MVR 4 million for services rendered of two companies run by former Kudahuvadhoo constituency Ahmed Amir which were hired for the production, shooting, editing and equipment provision of some DRP activities from 2007 to 2009.
Amir took an enforcement compliance case to the Civil Court, with the DRP being dissolved due to the required number of members failing to present themselves to the court as the case was underway.
And so, the Civil Court proceeded to charge Nasheed in enforcing compliance. However, Nasheed has not responded in court regarding the case. And so, after having produced Nasheed to court, the Civil Court ruled that the amount of MVR 4 million for services rendered is to be paid by Nasheed to Amir, with the payment to be made within 14 days.
Upon Nasheed appealing the case, the High Court rejected the appeal, stating that as the sentence was issued in absentia, the Civil Procedure Code grants him the right to appeal to the sentencing court to void it entirely.
According to the Civil Court's sentence, the High Court upheld the debt to be paid to Amir, with the leader of the DRP being Nasheed at the time. The sentence also reads that the Elections Commission (EC) had informed the court of this via a letter, and so Nasheed is to be responsible for the debt.
According to the Political Parties regulation, if a political party is to pay for services rendered or property on a later date, the party is to determine who should be held personally responsible and to inform the party they are working with. The agreement for the form of payment, the individual who will be held personally responsible and a declaration of the agreement regarding the date of transaction is to be submitted to the EC within five days as well.
However, when Amir and the DRP made the transactions in 2009, such a regulation did not exist at the time.
As Nasheed's appeal has been rejected, with Nasheed failing to make the payment and with the High Court having completely voided the additional MVR 16.3 million penalty, the only payment that needs to be paid is for services rendered. The Supreme Court backed the sentence as well.
The DRP, which was known to be the biggest political party in Maldives at the time, had formed factions within its ranks in 2011 due to differences of opinion, with the party having accrued millions in debt.
MTCC worked to hold the former president of the party Maumoon Abdul Gayoom responsible for a debt of MVR 1.1 million which was owed to them. However, the case was later dropped.
