Charges sought against Thinadhoo City Mayor and three councilors over illegal land allocation
21 ސެޕްޓެމްބަރު 2026 | ހޯމަ 08:33The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has requested the Prosecutor General’s Office to charge Thinadhoo City Mayor Saud Ali and three councilors over the illegal lease of land to a private company. The officials are accused of abusing their official positions to provide an undue advantage to a third party. According to the ACC, the land was leased for commercial purposes without a public tender, in clear violation of established regulations and procedures.
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The Prosecutor General's Office has decided to seek criminal charges against the Mayor and three council members of Thinadhoo City over the illegal allocation of land plots.
In a statement released Sunday, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) clarified that under the "Regulation on Leasing Land for Non-Residential Purposes," land for industrial or commercial use cannot be allocated without a competitive bidding process.
However, when a private company requested land in GDh. Thinadhoo to conduct a cooking gas business, Aminath Naseema, Ahmema Ahmed, and Aishath Liusha Zubair—who served as members during the fourth term of the Thinadhoo Council—voted during the 111th official meeting to allocate the land. This decision was made without a public tender, in violation of regulations, and was intended to provide an undue advantage to the company.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) stated that Mayor Saud Ali signed an agreement on November 1, 2023, following a council decision to unlawfully allocate land to the company. Under this agreement, three plots of land, each measuring 2,000 square feet, were illegally and improperly leased to the firm.
The commission decided on September 10, 2026, to forward the case to the Prosecutor General's Office for prosecution.
In this regard, the decision has been made to seek criminal charges against the President of the 4th session of the GDh. Thinadhoo Council, Saud Ali, alongside council members Aminath Naseema, Ahmima Ahmed, and Aishath Liusha Zubair.
The charges requested in this case pertain to the offense of abuse of official authority.
