Complaints have been filed against Sealife Global, at the Maldives Police Service (MPS) and Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), over an alleged housing scam.

They were filed by the former state counsel at the Attorney General’s Office, Mariyam Shunana.

While a complaint was filed at the police over the alleged scam, the case was filed at ACC seeking to investigate the alleged corruption involved in the project.

The five-year project between the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and Sealife Global was announced back in 2014; it is a joint venture between the company and two Dubai firms.

While Sealife Global was tasked with developing 3,000 housing units and offices, they have announced several dates on when the it will be completed. However, most of the project remains incomplete.

Around 300 people had booked to purchase properties from the apartments allocated within the first phase, with an initial payment of MVR 50,000. The payment was made under the condition that it ‘would be refundable at any time’.

Shunana represents 146 individuals that are yet to be refunded. She noted these individuals have yet to get a response from the company despite multiple attempts, and added that their office in the capital has been closed since.

Noting that these individuals were given a timeline to when the refunds will be deposited, Shunana said that the fact Sealife Global’s office has since been closed off ‘leaves room to believe that this is being done purposefully, so as to avoid making the refunds.’

Furthermore, she noted that each individual was charged 20% of the full payment and added that this can only be done after 20% of the project has been completed.

Noting that it is HDC’s responsibility to ensure that the project was going accordingly, Shunana emphasized that it had failed to do so as well.

“Hence, we believe that HDC was involved in the scam,” she added.

She is currently working on filing a case at the Civil Court, and is to provide free legal aid to the victims of the housing scam.