The Civil Court has declined to issue a stay order to halt the sale of a lagoon near Gaafaru that was leased recently to Kaashidhoo MP Abdulla Jabir's International Travel Consultants (ITC) Pvt Ltd.
The stay order was sought by a man named Adam Manik, a former business partner of Jabir who claims to be owed USD 1.3 million from Jabir and ITC.
According to the court's ruling, ITC is attempting to sell the lagoon to a company called Dar Global Maldives Pvt Ltd. Adam Manik asked the court to order the Tourism Ministry to suspend the transaction until he is repaid the money.
As a rule, leaseholder rights for islands or lagoons leased for tourism purposes can only be transferred after confirming the lack of any debt or legal disputes.
Attorneys representing the state told the court that the ministry's responsibility was to see whether there was a debt directly related to the island or lagoon in question. If there was no direct connection, the ministry would not have to take that into consideration, the lawyers argued, defending the decision to authorize the sale of the lagoon.
The court concurred with the state's stance. As ITC was not named in Adam Manik's lawsuit, the company cannot be responsible for the debt, the court ruled.
The lagoon was leased to ITC in exchange for Alif Alif Mathiveri Finolhu, which the government has brought under the jurisdiction of the Mathiveri island council.
