The Prosecutor General (PG) has ordered a criminal investigation into the housing schemes for Malé residents initiated by the previous administration.
The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) said it had been made aware of concerns that accepted applications for the two schemes—Binveriya and Gedhoruveriya—violated the rules and regulations determining the recipients of plots and flats.
“The Prosecutor General has directed the Maldives Police Service and the Anti-Corruption Commission to conduct an investigation into the manner in which the land and flats were allocated and if anyone can be charged criminally in this regard,” the agency said.
The PG has further instructed agencies to move forward with expedited investigations while updating the office on a weekly basis.
The order to conduct an inquiry into the Ibrahim Mohamed Solih administration’s housing schemes comes at a time when the management of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), under the current Mohamed Muizzu administration, stands accused of illicit land dealings after the change in administrations.
Under the Binveriya scheme, the Solih administration allocated a total of 9,003 plots to the people of Malé, allocating 1,407 plots in Hulhumalé, 2,219 in Gulhi Falhu and 5,433 in Giraavaru Falhu.
The provisional list of eligible applicants, released on 8 August 2013, included 15,046 people. The Solih administration, at the time, decided to allocate flats to all eligible applicants; however, work had been contracted for only 4,000 flats.
Thus, the Solih administration decided that the first 4,000 flats were to be allocated to the highest scorers in the order of points.