Villa Group says they are now certain that authorities had violated court order
Order did not warrant seizure of alcohol
Authorities active in Fun Island
Villa Shipping and Trading Company Pvt Ltd says that they are now sure that authorities had grossly violated the search order issued by Criminal Court, by having illegally seized assets from Villa Group resorts.
A statement released by the lawyers for the company stated that 37 officers of Maldives Customs Service (MCS) and seven officers of Maldives Police Service (MPS) was issued a court order to search Fun Island. It added that the order was granted to search the premises as part of the allegations made by MCS and granted to search and collect evidence. However, the statement said the officers had seized all the liquor on the island without investigating or collecting evidence.
The legal team added the liquor from the island was taken in 'gross violation' of the powers granted under the court order. Noting that Customs had, on multiple times, requested for a court order that mandated confiscation of liquor, laywers said no such order was granted. The multiple requests for such an order, the statement said was a clear indication that even MCS did not believe that they could confiscate liquor cases.
Fun and Royal Island Resorts had licenses to import and sell liquor in the Maldives, lawyers added. In spite of the current issues and searches, the Group stressed these licenses had not been suspended or revoked.
Given the above issues and given that Villa Group had not violated the terms of the license, the Group stressed the points raised by the state had no valid grounds and Customs actions should not have an impact on those that possess the said license.
The statement stressed that the state's actions negatively impacted on the tourism sector and nation and was a gross violation of laws of the nation. The damage to the Maldives' brand internationally and emotional toll on tourists, it said, was irreversible. It further noted that in the past two years, the state had arbitrarily attacked businesses under Villa Group, adding that the resultant damages to the company was staggering.
The Group had publicized the list of officers of MPS and MCS, as well as filing cases to recover confiscated liquor and suspension of liquor license to Royal Island Resort.
