MTCC withdraws lawsuit against Gayoom over DRP debt
The DRP has since been dissolved due to insufficient membership.
The Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC) has withdrawn its petition from the High Court in a case seeking to hold former Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) leader and former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom liable for a debt owed by the now-defunct party.
The case stems from a 2010 Civil Court ruling which ordered the DRP to pay MVR 1.1 million to MTCC. Following the ruling, MTCC was only able to recover MVR 2,609.33 from the party’s bank accounts.
MTCC subsequently filed a claim in the Civil Court seeking to recover the remaining amount by holding Maumoon personally responsible for the debt. MTCC cited provisions in the political parties' regulations which state that parties are responsible for their debts.
However, the Civil Court ruled that there was no legal basis to hold Maumoon personally liable. MTCC then appealed the decision to the High Court. In response, Maumoon requested that the case be dismissed. The case was also taken to the Supreme Court during the appeals process.
The High Court on Tuesday ruled on the matter, confirming that MTCC had formally requested to withdraw the case without further proceedings. The bench of three judges – Hussain Mazeed, Fatima Farheeza (Chairperson), and Dheebanaz Fahmy – unanimously accepted the request and dismissed the charges. The ruling did not include an explanation for MTCC’s decision to withdraw.
The DRP has since been dissolved due to insufficient membership. In recent related cases, the Civil Court has ruled that some debt cases involving the DRP cannot proceed following its dissolution.
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has led the formation of three political parties. He left the DRP in 2011 due to internal disputes and established the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM). After being expelled from PPM, he formed the Maldives Reform Movement (MRM).
Both PPM and MRM have faced membership challenges, with PPM initiating dissolution proceedings and MRM falling short of the minimum membership required by law.
