Lease on Fushidhiggaru lagoon held until acquisition cost paid

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has ordered Tourism Ministry not to lease K. Fushidhiggaru lagoon despite joint venture agreement made between Maldivian government and Singaporean company to develop the lagoon as a special tourism zone, until the acquisition cost is paid.

After looking into the case filed with ACC alleging that the lagoon had been leased to a foreign company using corruption, ACC said that there had not been enough evidence to definitively prove that a party had been corruptly favored.

However, it had been noticed in their investigation into the case that it had been agreed in 2011, during former President Mohamed Nasheed’s administration that the joint venture would be a 50/50 deal; but that according to the joint venture agreement signed in 2013, government was to have only 25 percent share.

ACC said that this has been because of the policy change that came with the change of government in 2012, which includes the introduction of acquisition cost.

ACC noted that an acquisition cost had not been mentioned neither in the joint venture agreement between the Singaporean company and Maldivian government, nor any other communication between the two parties regarding the venture.

The joint venture company created as part of the agreement was registered much later, in 2014, under court order.

ACC has informed Tourism Ministry that if the lagoon was to be leased for development as a special tourism zone as part of the joint venture agreement, only after the acquisition cost, pre-set by government for each square foot of space as part of the new policy, is paid.