Despite President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s repeated promise of running a government with “nothing to hide,” the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICOM) has now referred several employees of the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Infrastructure to the Prosecutor General’s Office for prosecution after they failed to provide information related to flats.

The move follows the employees’ refusal to comply with an ICOM order. ICOM announced Thursday that the referral was made under the Right to Information Act because the 45-day window to appeal the Information Commissioner’s ruling, finding that several housing ministry employees had violated the law, expired without any appeal being lodged.

ICOM previously revealed that statements were taken from former Information Officer Zahanath, current Information Officer Mifzal, and Legal Officer Eman while preparing the case.

Under Article 65 of the Right to Information Act, if 45 days pass without an appeal against an Information Commissioner’s decision and the decision remains unimplemented, ICOM may refer the matter to the PG Office to pursue action through the courts for contempt of a lawful order.

The case was filed with ICOM by a private individual on 4 October 2025, under the Right to Information Act. The requester sought clarification on whether they were among those allotted a flat under the Gedhoruveriyaa scheme, as part of an Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigation.

The housing ministry refused to provide the information, despite Muizzu having campaigned on the claim that his administration would be fully transparent and eliminate the need for RTI requests.

This marks the first time a case has been forwarded for prosecution under the Right to Information Act against government employees for denying a member of the public information and thereby violating the law.