Maldives govt vouches for Siyam's 'good character' after Singapore travel ban
Under a Singaporean High Court order, Siyam has been barred from leaving the country without paying the dues.
Maldivian government has intervened after a Singaporean court order barred Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) president Ahmed Siyam Mohamed from leaving Singapore over USD 24 million (MVR 370.8 million) in dues to Hilton International Management under a Singapore arbitration ruling that awarded damage claims to Hilton against Sun Travels for cancelling a contract for the management of N. Irufushi resort, according to a leaked document.
Reliable sources confirmed to Atoll Times on Thursday that Siyam had travelled to Singapore three days ago in response to a summons sent to him to appear before the Singaporean High Court after his company failed to pay $24 million (MVR 368 million) to Hilton in accordance with a ruling by the country's arbitral tribunal.
It is learnt that when Siyam, who accompanied President Solih on his campaign visit to the islands last week, arrived in Singapore, he was barred from leaving the country without paying the dues.
A letter allegedly sent by the Maldivian foreign ministry on Tuesday to vouch for Siyam's "good character" following the travel ban was leaked on social media on Thursday.
In the leaked letter, the Maldivian foreign ministry noted that Siyam is one of the longest serving parliamentarians in the country and leads the country's fourth biggest political party.
Describing Siyam as "a citizen of good character" and "one of the youngest resort developers in the Maldivian tourism industry", the Maldivian foreign ministry noted that he serves as the current Head of the Consulate of Romania in Male, and has been appointed an Honorary Consul to both Romania and Korea since 24 July 2022 and 1 October 2018, respectively.
"In view of the above, the ministry is hopeful that Mr Siyam’s good character, his public standing in the Maldives and his prominent role in the parliament as well as the diplomatic service (in his capacity as the Honorary Consul of Romania and the Republic of Korea) will stand as testament of his good character and that these be taken into due consideration by the competent authorities of Singapore in determining any course of action to ensure Mr Siyam's presence at court in Singapore," the letter signed by deputy minister Abdulla Humaid read.
Siyam's MDA has not responded to requests for comment since Wednesday.
Sun Travels, owned by prominent businessman and Meedhoo MP Ahmed Siyam Mohamed, terminated the Irufushi deal on April 30, 2013, on the grounds that Hilton had breached the agreement. When the case of cancellation of the agreement was referred to arbitration in Singapore:
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On August 17, 2015, the arbitrator issued a final award; Sun Travels was asked to pay USD 20.9 million in fines and additional costs
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When the division dealing with major cases related to property handed over the implementation of the award to the Civil Court, the court held that there was no jurisdiction
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When the award case was referred to the Civil Court's sentencing division for the second time, it was decided that the verdict could be executed only after the High Court decides on the award
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When the High Court was appealed with, the court set aside the Civil Court's ruling and declared that the "concerned court" as defined in the Arbitration Act was the Civil Court
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When the award case came up in the civil court for the third time, the court ordered all accounts of Sun Travels be frozen
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Challenging the civil court's orders, the High Court held that since the acceptance and implementation of arbitral awards are two stages, the two stages should be allowed separately.
More than seven years after this case was pending in various courts, the Civil Court on February 25 decided to accept Singapore's arbitration award and ordered the company to deduct the amount paid so far and pay the remaining amount, penalty and additional expenses within 14 days.
Sun Travels challenged the Civil Court's February order in the High Court, which issued a stay order.
