Police release all passports in HDC land fraud probe

The passports of all 20 individuals, including former Housing Development Corporation (HDC) Managing Director Ibrahim Fazul Rasheed and his brother, Mohamed Fazeel Rasheed, have been released by the police.

The passports were initially seized in December last year in connection with alleged fraudulent land allocations under the previous government's Binveriyaa scheme.

The case revolves around the allocation of land to individuals whose names were reportedly not included in the official list of recipients under the Binveriyaa scheme. Authorities had initially confiscated the passports of 20 people as part of their investigation. Since then, nine individuals had already regained their passports. Now, the police have confirmed that the remaining individuals, including Fazul and Fazeel, have also had their passports returned.

A police official told Atoll Times that the passports of all those involved in the case have been released. However, no formal charges have been filed against any individual, and it remains unclear whether the investigation is still ongoing.

As soon as the case came to public attention, Ibrahim Fazul Rasheed denied all allegations against him and subsequently resigned from his position as HDC’s Managing Director. The police also conducted a search of his residence, where they seized MVR 1.4 million in cash. However, authorities later returned the money to Fazul.

Despite the serious allegations, there has been no official update from the police regarding the conclusion of the investigation or any new findings.