Court dismisses case against SOF over unenforceable judgment
Funds obtained through leasing islands and lagoon areas via MMPRC were deposited into SOF’s accounts.
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The Civil Court has dismissed a case filed by the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) seeking enforcement of a 2017 judgment ordering SOF Pvt Ltd to pay USD 10.7 million in relation to the MMPRC corruption case.
The case was filed in October 2023 to enforce the earlier ruling. However, the Civil Court, in a decision issued yesterday, concluded that the judgment could not be enforced due to the absence of identifiable assets in SOF’s name.
The court noted the following in its ruling:
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No funds were found in any bank accounts held under SOF’s name
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No company shares were registered to SOF
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No registered ownership of vehicles, land, buildings, or other property under SOF
The court provided MMPRC with a two-month period to submit any evidence of assets held by SOF. As no documents were submitted within that timeframe, the case was dismissed.
Presiding Judge Zulaikha Sheeza stated that MMPRC retains the right to re-file the case should it obtain relevant evidence of property or assets linked to SOF.
The agreement previously made with SOF directors Mohamed Allam Latheef, Ahmed Isfah Ali, and Mohamed Hussain has been cancelled. No additional legal actions against them have been initiated.
During the administration of former President Abdulla Yameen, funds obtained through leasing islands and lagoon areas via MMPRC were deposited into SOF’s accounts. The funds were subsequently distributed to various parties and used for multiple purposes.
The SOF account was frozen in 2020. Details regarding the release of the account were not disclosed in the ruling.
Former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb, a key figure in the MMPRC case, was sentenced to 20 years in prison under a plea agreement. He departed the Maldives days before the end of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s term, following the grant of amnesty.
The former Managing Director of MMPRC, Abdulla Ziyath, was sentenced to 32 years in prison. His prosecution agreement was revoked in August 2022 due to non-cooperation. Both Adeeb and Ziyath were serving their sentences under house arrest following plea agreements.
