Villa seeks clarification on lagoon sale halt
The official said the company has not yet been informed of or questioned about the issues being probed by the ACC.
Villa Group has asked the tourism ministry to explain why the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) had halted the sale of K. Vaveddhi lagoon, which was leased to the company.
ACC last week asked the tourism ministry to halt the sale of the lagoon, which Villa received in January as part of a compensation package mandated by the Supreme Court for previous lease terminations, after an individual filed a complaint with the ACC within the public complain window the ministry usually gives when it receives such lease transfer requests.
A Villa official told Atoll Times on Tuesday that the lagoon was acquired by Villa following a Supreme Court ruling and there would be no problem with it. Pointing out that the lagoon has been Villa’s since 2012, the official said the company has not yet been informed of or questioned about the issues being probed by the ACC.
"There should not be any real problem. Therefore, we have now asked for a clarification as to which case is being investigated by the ACC in connection with the lagoon, within seven days. After that, we will go to the next stage," the official said.
"It came as a surprise to us too that the transaction was suddenly stopped at this point."
The company's owner, Maamigili MP Gasim Ibrahim, has decided not to form an alliance with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih for a second term and will contest the presidential election from his own Jumhooree Party (JP).
