The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has requested the Prosecutor General’s (PG) Office to press corruption charges against the Mayor of Gaaf Dhaal Thinadhoo City, Saud Ali, and three councillors over the illegal allocation of four plots of land to a private business.
According to information released by the ACC, the land was awarded to a private company for a cooking gas business without a public bidding process.
The commission stated that the move violated regulations governing the lease of land for non-residential purposes. Under these regulations, it is prohibited to allocate land for commercial or industrial use without an open tender.
The ACC noted that during the 111th official meeting of the fourth session of the Thinadhoo Council, councillors Aminath Naseema, Ahumeema Ahmed, and Aishath Liusha Zubair voted in favour of granting the land to the company with the intent of securing an undue advantage for the business.
The charges against Mayor Saud, who served as the Council President at the time, stem from the signing of the agreement on November 1, 2023. It is alleged that, in addition to the agreed-upon plot, he illegally authorised the allocation of three additional 2,000-square-foot plots to the same company.
The ACC forwarded the case to the PG Office on September 10, seeking to charge the four individuals with misuse of official authority.
The land-related corruption charges come as Saud already faces separate legal action for providing false information to an official body. He is accused of manipulating population data to secure city status for Thinadhoo.
