Shamheed pledges to settle court-ordered bank debt personally

Hulhumalé South MP Dr Ahmed Shamheed has pledged to settle a debt arising from a loan obtained by a company in which he holds shares, following a Civil Court ruling ordering repayment to Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB).

In a statement issued on Thursday, Shamheed said he would personally ensure that the outstanding debt was settled in accordance with the court's ruling, despite maintaining that the loan had been obtained for purposes unrelated to his personal interests.

The Civil Court ruled on Tuesday that five individuals, including Shamheed, were liable for outstanding payments under a USD 500,000 sale-and-leaseback financing facility provided by MIB to Duplex Private Limited.

Shamheed was among the guarantors of the financing arrangement.

The court ordered the outstanding payments, including USD 36,647.76 in charity charges and additional amounts accruing under the agreement, to be settled within six months.

In his statement, Shamheed said the financing facility had been obtained for the personal interests of certain shareholders of Duplex Private Limited.

He said he had agreed to act as a guarantor because the company would otherwise have been unable to secure the financing.

Shamheed claimed that after becoming aware that the company was failing to meet its repayment obligations, he repeatedly instructed those responsible for its management and finances to settle the outstanding amounts.

However, he said those instructions were not followed.

"Because those responsible failed to make the payments, I have been making payments personally from that point until today," Shamheed said.

Shamheed, who intends to contest the Maldivian Democratic Party's (MDP) presidential primary ahead of the 2028 presidential election, said he remained committed to fulfilling his legal obligations.

Shamheed alleged that the debt case was being used for political purposes to damage his reputation.

He said individuals who had previously been his friends and were involved in establishing and managing the company had since decided to support a candidate competing against him politically.

However, Shamheed argued that political differences should not be used as grounds to turn matters involving personal interests into political disputes or to damage another person's reputation.

According to information published on the Ministry of Economic Development's business portal, Ahmed Aslam is the managing director of Duplex Private Limited.

The company's shareholders are listed as Ahmed Aslam, Ahmed Shamheed, Ahmed Saeed, Mohamed Hamdan Baagir and Mohamed Fiyaz.

Shamheed also criticised the company's management over its handling of the case after MIB initiated legal proceedings.

He alleged that those responsible for managing the company failed to respond to the case or take appropriate action after it was filed in court.

Shamheed further claimed that the case had been concluded without him being summoned to appear before the court and that he learned of the judgment through an email.

Despite raising these concerns, he said he would comply with the ruling and settle the debt.

"Although this loan was not obtained for my personal benefit, I assure the people of my constituency that, with God's help, I will settle this debt imposed on me legally in accordance with the court's ruling," Shamheed said.

The Civil Court ruling has attracted attention because Article 73 of the Constitution requires members of Parliament who have established debts to comply with court-ordered repayment obligations.

Failure to meet the constitutional requirements can result in the loss of parliamentary membership.

Shamheed's statement comes as he prepares to contest the MDP presidential primary for the party's ticket in the 2028 presidential election.