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Govt executes verdict on islands leased to Qasim's Villa Company

Fathmath Shaahunaz
04 February 2019, MVT 16:38
Minister of Tourism Ali Waheed speaks at press conference. PHOTO/MIHAARU
Fathmath Shaahunaz
04 February 2019, MVT 16:38

Ministry of Tourism stated Monday that it has begun executing the Supreme Court's verdict regarding the seizure of islands leased to Villa Company.

The administration of former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom had annulled the agreement to lease five islands to Villa, the conglomerate of Jumhooree Party's leader Qasim Ibrahim, in 2015. The government had accused Villa of violating their settlement agreement, but the Civil Court ruled in Villa's favour.

While the High Court had overruled the verdict, the Supreme Court upheld the Civil Court's verdict in April 2018, and ordered to give back the islands seized from Villa.

In a statement released Monday, the tourism ministry stated that it was working with relevant authorities to execute the top court's verdict. The ministry further assured that all decisions pertaining to the issue will be taken with the counsel of the President's Office, Attorney General's Office, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of National Planning and Infrastructure, as per the settlement agreement.

The previous administration had annulled the settlement agreement after World Link Travels (WLT), of which Villa is a stakeholder, filed a lawsuit against the state seeking USD 129 million. Noting that the settlement agreement between Villa and the state stipulated that Villa could not sue the latter, the government claimed that WLT's lawsuit entailed a violation of the agreement.

However, Villa maintained that WLT was not involved in the settlement agreement, and thus the government's decision to nullify the contract was unlawful.

Amidst the court case, Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) had also sued Villa for USD 188 million (MVR 2.9 billion). MIRA withdrew the lawsuit following the Supreme Court's verdict.

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