Probe into illegal land sales to PNC MPs, senior gov’t official yet to begin
HDC has maintained silence on the issue of illegally selling to MPs
Hulhumalé Phase II
It has come to light that the investigation into the case of illegally selling land to some lawmakers representing the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) at the People's Majlis and some senior officials of the current administration, is yet to begin.
Some documents alleging that land was given to some government MPs and senior officials have been circulating on social media. The issue of land sold without announcement has come to light at a time additional corruption cases of Housing Development Corporation (HDC) have also surfaced. As such, the Maldives Police Service (MPS) is investigating the case of illegally giving a plot of land to Mohamed Fazeel Rasheed, Deputy Managing Director of Malé Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC), who is the elder brother of Ibrahim Fazul Rasheed, Managing Director of HDC.
At a press conference held on Thursday, journalists asked if the case was being investigated. In response, it was revealed that they are currently investigating the case of documents related to the land given to Mohamed Fazeel Rasheed, and some others. They also noted that the probe will be expanded further in the future.
According to the police, they began investigating the HDC land embezzlement case on their own initiative. They said they decided to investigate the case when it surfaced on social media. With this, when the issue of illegally selling land to some people associated with the government came to light on social media, the police could not provide an adequate answer to the journalists' questions about why it was not being investigated.
According to documents circulating on social media, land from Phase II beachfront of Hulhumalé has been sold to government officials at a rate of MVR 3,000 per square foot. In addition to this, the findings show that there were previous proposals to buy at a rate of MVR 9,000 per square foot from the Hulhumalé beachfront.
HDC has maintained silence on the issue of illegally selling to members, since the scandal unfolded.
