The Civil Court on Monday issued a travel ban on former Minister of Home Affairs, Umar Naseer, who is an independent presidential candidate in the upcoming elections.
Umar is a shareholder of Tourist Whale Submarine Pvt Ltd, a company which has a decreed debt of MVR 1.8 million over failing to settle its employees' pensions.
In December 2016, Maldives Pension Administration Office (MPAO) had filed a case against Tourist Whale Submarine Pvt Ltd. The court had ruled in favour of MPAO, ordering Tourist Whale Submarine to pay MVR 1.8 million as retirement pension money.
The Enforcement Department of the Civil Court reopened the case after MPAO filed a case again over Tourist Whale Submarine's failure to settle the payment. Under the accruals and non-mortgage debt regulations, the passports of all the company directors have been confiscated.
However, Umar has denied the travel ban news and the existence of such a debt.
While Umar has announced his presidential candidacy, Election Commission guidelines state that any candidate with a decreed debt would not be allowed to contest.