The Civil Court has granted permission to the State Bank of India (SBI) for the third time to sell Dholhiyadhoo Island Resort after Dholhiyadhoo Investment failed to pay MVR 869 million as fines and interest for loans.
SBI petitioned the Civil Court on January 7, 2013 to recover the money owed by Dholhiyadhoo Investment. The Civil Court finished hearing the case on March 15, 2015.
The case was filed by SBI in the Civil Court due to non-repayment of a USD 10 million loan taken on July 2, 2006, a USD 4 million loan taken on August 17, 2008 and a loan of MVR 38.4 million. They were loans taken after mortgaging Dholhiyadhoo island.
The court found that USD 11.1 million from the first loan, USD 2.9 million from the second loan and MVR 39.7 million for the third loan were owed by the time the court reached a decision in March 2015. The company was ordered to pay within 10 months but did not comply.
By August 12, 2024, the amount due for the first loan, including interest and penalties, had reached USD 33 million. The amount owed for the second loan amounted to USD 13.8 million and the third loan amounted to MVR 149 million.
Dholhiyadhoo Investment has to pay a total of MVR 869 million in interest and penalties to SBI.
The company had obtained loans from the Bank of Maldives (BML) and the Bank of Ceylon (BOC) after mortgaging Dholhiyadhoo island. The two banks participated in the court case and told the court they had no objection towards SBI selling the island.
The minimum price for Dholhiyadhoo island has been set at USD 15 million. The court permitted SBI to sell the island within 45 days. If a buyer can be found within that duration, the money will be divided among the three banks within 10 days.
There had been two previous attempts to sell the island. The 100-bed resort was announced for sale in 2019 for USD 42 million. In January 2022, it was announced that the island would be sold for USD 33 million.
