Dheebaajaa case: state to submit plan on how fine will be paid, at next hearing

The state has agreed to provide details on how the MVR 348 million fine will be paid to Dheebaajaa Investments, to the Civil Court.

It agreed to do so at Thursday’s hearing in the case, where the attorney general is requesting to annul the verdict, on the grounds that the court "is acting against regulations."

The Ministry of Economics contracted Dheebaajaa Investments to provide ferry services to four atolls in the Northern Province, during former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration in 2010. However, the agreement was annulled in 2013, during the presidency of Mohamed Waheed.

While a case was filed at the Civil Court, it ruled for the state to pay MVR 348 million to the company, on 23 October 2014. The order was appealed at the High Court on 17 May 2015, who overturned the lower court verdict on 26 June 2018.

However, the Supreme Court upheld the Civil Court verdict on 17 April 2019.

While the initial Civil Court’s 2014 order states that the amount must be paid within a period of six months, the state highlighted that the Supreme Court does not specify a period.

The state’s attorney attempted to speak at Thursday’s hearing as well, but was stopped by chief judge Hassan Fahmy, who noted that the opportunity to comment “has passed.”

Lawyer Salwa Abdulla, who is representing the economic ministry in the case, said that details on how the fine will be paid “will be submitted to court at the next hearing.”

She added that they were not prepared to do so at Thursday’s hearing, and that two weeks is required to draft a plan.

Also at the hearing, Dheebaajaa Investment’s chairman Ibrahim Rasheed said that he does not believe that the state should be provided additional time to pay the fine, and asked the court to make a decision on the matter.

Since the state requested a two-week period, the chief judge said that the next hearing in the case will be held on June 13, after the court returns from recess.