Court denies HDC documents release in K-Park case
While the Civil Court had refused to issue an order to disclose these documents, HDC has not refused to provide them in court.
By
Fathmath Ahmed Shareef
The civil court has ruled that it is not possible to pass an order to HDC to provide documents for a petition seeking compensation by a person affected by the K-Park residence scam.
In 2016, HDC awarded the contract to a Korean company, Hanbo Company Limited, to build flats in Hulhumale. Thus:
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The company was given two years to complete the apartment building under the name of 'K-Park Residence' but the project has not been completed in seven years
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One of the shareholders, Hassan Mamdhooh, allegedly sold the apartments fraudulently
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The project has been delayed and many people who bought flats there have suffered
Mohamed Fariz Fakir, Sakkeyoge/Feydhoo-Addu, who bought an apartment from the K-Park project, applied for an order to obtain documents related to the K-Park project. He said he wanted the documents because he wanted to file a case against all the parties involved in the transaction for not handing over the apartment in accordance with the agreement signed with Hanbo on July 28, 2022.
The documents requested from HDC are:
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Copy of the agreement between HDC and Hanbo Company on the construction of K-Park project
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Copy of the documents if any project performance guarantee has been taken under the agreement between HDC and Hanbo
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Copy of the relevant documents if any powers have been given to the second party to implement the project under the project implementation agreement
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Copy of documents indicating that the permission to sell the apartment under the project has been given to Hanbo Company Limited registered in Maldives
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Details and documentation of any action taken by HDC for non-completion of the project within the stipulated time frame
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Copy of documents related to the activities taken by HDC in monitoring the progress of the project
He believes the documents should be provided by HDC as Hanbo is developing the K-Park apartments under an agreement with HDC on land allocated by the corporation.
In his motion, Fariz said the documents were important to determine whether the company failed to develop and hand over the apartments because HDC had not fulfilled its requirements or whether there was negligence on the part of the corporation and the steps taken. He said it was necessary to secure the facts of the case against Hanbo and HDC.
The Civil Court ruled on Tuesday that there was no need to issue an order to disclose documents before filing a lawsuit in the case.
The civil court ruled:
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The rights of the parties in the agreement depend on the parties involved in the agreement
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HDC is not a party to the agreement between the complainant and Hanbo Company and there is no possibility of a lawsuit against HDC for failing to exercise a right in said agreement
While the Civil Court had refused to issue an order to disclose these documents, HDC has not refused to provide them in court.
In its reply, HDC told the court that since the documents were procured for the purpose of filing a complaint, they could be shared with the complainant in such a manner that the confidentiality of the documents could be maintained.
However, all the documents are confidential under an agreement between HDC and Hanbo. Therefore, the HDC has sought word from Hanbo before releasing the documents.
The apartments have not been completed in seven years and a case has already been filed with the State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Committee of Parliament alleging that the project is causing serious damage, both financially and psychologically, to more than 100 people who have paid for apartments in the building.
The petition, filed by North Galolhu MP Mohamed Ibrahim, sought a detailed probe into HDC’s conduct in the K-Park project.
HDC is a 100% state-owned company, and it is important to know what happened if there is any negligence or violation of rules in such projects under the supervision of HDC.
