‘Astonishing’ levels of corruption in Greater Malé development

There had been ‘astonishing’ levels of corruption in the development of Thilafushi and Gulhifalhu islands, the Greater Malé Industrial Zone Limited has said.

Speaking to RaajjeTV on Monday night, the company’s managing director Ibrahim Rasheed Abubakr said that questionable agreements were signed during former president Abdulla Yameen’s tenure.

Ibrahim said that assets were moved through the company and that it was effectively ‘robbed’. The company is a merger between the Thilafushi Corporation and Gulhifalhu Investments.

It was given the mandate to lease land in the land reclaimed in Thilafushi and Gulhifalhu islands, for industrial purposes, and management work carried out there.

The company’s managing director said in Monday’s interview that during Yameen’s tenure, hefty amounts were spent on marketing, which according to Ibrahim is redundant.

Ibrahim said that cash in bulk had been carried to the campaign offices of Yameen and former first lady Fathimath Ibrahim during his bid for re-election last year.

While the company has always had ‘more employees than required’, Ibrahim said that even more were hired during the campaign.

Last year, over MVR 1 million in sponsors were given to a local organization called ‘Abdu-Raheem foundation’, Ibrahim said, adding that the company has yet to recover debts of up to MVR 123 million.

While the company itself has been mismanaged, Ibrahim said that it has stayed out of debt due to the high value of the Thilafushi and Gulhifalhu islands.

The company was created in March last year, and is worth MVR 2 billion.