Ibrahim Fazul Rasheed, the now-suspended Managing Director of Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has stated that his elder brother being among those who illegally received plots in Hulhumalé was a mere “coincidence”.

HDC held an abrupt press conference on Wednesday night after the issue of illegally allocating plots under the ‘Binveriyaa’ scheme exploded.

At the presser, Fazul failed to clearly explain how two people received the same plot of land in Hulhumalé.

Fazul noted that HDC became aware of the illegal activity when two parties applied for permission to build a boundary wall for the same plot.

While Fazul said that HDC acted from that point, journalists continued to bombard him with questions to clarify the many inconsistencies in his statements as he tried to defend the situation.

Shedding light on the process of plot allocation, Fazul said that the Ministry of Housing, Land and Urban Development determines who receives plots under the ‘Binveriyaa’ scheme, and that it's not entrusted to HDC.

Fazul has said this at a time the housing ministry had clearly stated that according to their database, none of those parties had received plots under the scheme, in response to HDC's letter inquiring about the true owners of the two plots in question.

Further, Fazul said that a verification process is conducted from the moment an application for a service is received. He said that when an application for building a boundary wall was submitted, it was sent to the housing ministry for verification of the applicant.

Fazul also said that HDC considers the applicant to be the registered owner of the land from the moment they apply to build a boundary wall through the portal.

The suspended MD of HDC went on to note that the first application for a permit for the first plot; Plot No. 20768 was submitted on 30 June 2024. He noted that a second request for the same plot came on 17 July 2024.

He also said that a letter was sent to the housing ministry on 22 July 2024 to verify this.

Fazul said that the responses to these two letters were received on 15 August 2024.

Fazul highlighted that if there are irregularities, it was their responsibility to correct them.

When inquired if the agreement and registration given to these parties were forged documents, since it's clear from the housing ministry's response that they didn't issue them, Fazul said that would be investigated by the investigative authorities.

When a journalist asked if permission was given to build the boundary wall before the land ownership was clarified, Fazul said that the permission was given before receiving the response from the housing ministry. However, he said that the permission was later revoked.

Fazul also said that there was "no conflict of interest" in him leading the corporation while his full brother's case was within it.

When journalists asked why he didn't submit the case to the Maldives Police Service (MPS) for investigation when it became clear from the housing ministry's response that the documents submitted by his brother were not authentic, Fazul said he couldn't say whether the documents his brother submitted were authentic or not, and that would be determined by the investigative authorities.

When inquired about what HDC had done in the past seven months, Fazul said they hadn't informed the police. Fazul repeatedly stated that verifying the authenticity of the registration is not something HDC does.

Throughout the press conference, the phrase Fazul used in defense was "HDC initiated this."

Journalists asked Fazul what further verification was needed after HDC initiated this and the housing ministry verified it. When it was pointed out that two parties were claiming the same land, one of them being Fazul's brother, and whether it wasn't also a crime not to report this to the police, Fazul said that people come to HDC with soft copies of documents, not originals.

When a journalist asked why he wasn't recusing himself and was speaking in defense while his brother was among those who fraudulently obtained plots in Hulhumalé, his response was that he didn't consider having a family member involved as a reason for him to recuse himself.

Journalists continued to express frustration over receiving incomplete answers at the presser. Fazul repeatedly gave brief, irrelevant responses before dismissing each question with “next person”.

Some journalists voiced their frustration, claiming that Fazul was not answering any of their questions. In response, Fazul insisted that he was providing complete answers, suggesting that the journalists were simply having difficulties understanding what he was saying.