The Board of Directors of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC), except for the Chairperson, has been suspended pending an ongoing investigation, the Privatization and Corporatization Board (PCB) announced. HDC is a state-owned enterprise mandated with managing and undertaking the overall planning and building of the reclaimed city of Hulhumalé.
The PCB, which oversees the privatisation and corporatisation of government businesses to ensure transparency, efficiency, and adherence to legal and international best practices, stated that the suspension was necessary to allow the Maldives Police Service (MPS) to conduct a thorough investigation into allegations of wrongdoing.
The suspensions follow accusations related to the handling of Hulhumalé land plots under the previous government's 'Binveriyaa' housing scheme. The suspension was necessary to assist the police investigation, the PCB said.
According to the PCB's statement, the suspension will remain in place until the police complete their investigation and until the PCB reaches a decision on the matter. Among those suspended is HDC’s Managing Director Ibrahim Fazul Rasheed, alongside board directors Azhar Abdulla Saeed, Ibrahim Yoosuf Fulhu, Muhammad Visham, Ula Mohamed Rasheed, Arif Abdul Samad, Mohamed Naajil, Mohamed Waheed, Fathmath Mizna Ali, and Yoosuf Waheed.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday evening, HDC Managing Director Rasheed clarified that the Ministry of Housing, Land, and Urban Development decided the recipients of the Binveriya housing scheme. HDC had no role in the decision-making process and had not allocated any land plots in Hulhumalé to individuals who were not officially declared recipients by the Housing Ministry, he explained.
Rasheed’s statement responded to local media allegations suggesting that HDC had handed over land plots to non-recipients under the scheme. According to Rasheed, the controversial land plots had initially been flagged and reported to the relevant authorities by HDC itself. Rasheed also provided a timeline of requests made to, and responses received from, the housing ministry, regarding the matter.