Nasandhura Palace Hotel: corruption case against ex-VP Adeeb gets lost in the PG Office
The auditor general had raised questions over the handover of the hotel
Nasandhura Palace Hotel
One of the cases against former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb has been lost at the Prosecutor General (PG) Office.
The case, which was forwarded to the PG Office with 24 other such cases, is regarding that handover of Nasandhura Palace Hotel, to be redeveloped to a 15-storey five-star hotel.
A credible source told RaajjeMV that the case documents 'are no longer there at the PG Office,' adding that it is unclear where they disappeared to.
While the case was forwarded to the PG Office on the 3rd of January 2016, charges are yet to be raised over the matter.
While it has been over a year since the case was forwarded, according to police, the case has not been sent back. The police media official said that the case is still at the PG Office.
Despite numerous attempts, RaajjeMV was unable to get a comment from the Prosecutor General's Office, as the media official's response had been 'will check' every time.
RaajjeMV was also unable to get a comment from the Prosecutor General Aishath Bisham, as she did not respond to the calls.
Nasandhura Palace Hotel, located in the capital city's waterfront, was leased- along with an additional plot- for fifty years, to NPH Investments, a company where incumbent President Abdulla Yameen's brother-in-law, Mohamed Manik is a shareholder.
While charges have been raised in the other cases involving Adeeb and former managing director of Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Company (MMPRC), Abdulla Ziyath, it is unclear on why they were not charged over the leasing of Nasandhura.
The auditor general had raised questions over the lease, noting that the land was leased with a CSR component instead of payment to the state. However, the auditor general noted that details of the CSR had not been disclosed in the agreement.
The auditor general also noted that the former agreement on Nasandhura was annulled on 27th January 2015, and handed over to MMPRC the following day, along with an additional plot.
Despite the auditor general's concerns, the government commenced the project and the work is being carried out at a fast speed.
While the PG Office is yet to raised charges anyone on the matter, the Criminal Procedure Act states that charges must be raised against those in police custody, within 30 days after taking effect.
