Housing Development Corporation's Auditor has instructed the company to halt many of its financial transactions for the time being.
Housing Development Corporation's Auditor has instructed the company to halt many of its financial transactions for the time being.
Housing Development Corporation (HDC)'s Chief Internal Auditor ordered this in an internal memo sent yesterday.
This includes any transactions involving the 'Binveriyaa' housing scheme, and the issuance of land, commercial and residential units.
Procurements are also to be halted unless in an emergency situation, and no payments are to be issued at the moment either, according to the memo.
There is also a freeze on new hires and dismissals.
These steps are being taken in the wake of Police commencing an investigation into allegations that land plots have been awarded outside of the recipients list of the Binveriyaa scheme.
Privatization and Corporatization Board has meanwhile suspended the entire board of HDC, including Managing Director Fazul Rasheed, until the police investigation has been concluded. Chairman Ahmed Nasif, however, has not been suspended. He was appointed to the post recently, on November 6.
Police entered HDC premises yesterday under their investigation into the irregular granting of land to a number of people, including Fazul's brother Fazeel Rasheed.
Fazul, in a press conference yesterday, rejected the allegations being raised against him, asserting that HDC has not handed over land to any persons not included in the list from Ministry of Housing, Land and Urban Infrastructure.
The issue came to light when some individuals applied to HDC for permits to build the boundary walls of land, following which HDC referred this to the Housing Ministry. In their response, Housing Ministry said that the persons in question had not applied for land under the Binveriyaa scheme. The documents, which are now circulating on social media, shows that one of these persons is Fazul's brother. The second person is Abdul Majeed Mahir.