Dheebaja case goes to settlement committee

The issue of the MVR 348.10 million court ordered settlement to Dheebaja Investment Private Limited has been sent to the settlement committee in hopes of a peaceful resolution.

The State, during former President Mohamed Nasheed’s government in February 2010, signed a contract with Dheebaja for ferry services to four northern provinces (N. Atoll, R. Atoll, B. Atoll, and Lh. Atoll) in exchange for 47 plots of land to build ferry terminals and tourism development.

The contract was later terminated by the State citing lack of progress in the project.

The State’s decision to terminate the contract was deemed unlawful by the Civil Court in 2014, and the court ordered a MVR 348.10 million settlement to Dheebaja.

Though overturned upon appeal by the High Court, the original ruling by the Civil Court was upheld and the High Court's verdict squashed upon appeal at the Supreme Court on April 17, 2019.

The settlement committee is charged with providing advice to the President in matters of settlements and compensations due by the State. The committee is chaired by Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath.

The Board of Dheebaja has passed a motion asking the AG’s Office for resolution to the issue.

The company has also requested the Supreme Court for the suspension of legal proceedings at Supreme Court over the motion it previously filed asking for implementation of the original Civil Court settlement order in order to allow a peaceful resolution to the issue via the settlement committee.

The AG’s Office reports the case has now been lodged with the settlement committee as per Dheebaja’s request.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih previously stated that the settlements owed by the State for unlawful termination of contracts with various parties amounts to approximately MVR 6.8 billion.

The courts have recently ordered large settlements to private companies for unlawful termination of contracts. Additional cases are ongoing at the courts, and the government is also engaged in negotiation with several companies for settlements outside of court.