Criminal Court of the Maldives has granted former housing minister and current Mayor of Male’ City Dr. Mohamed Muizzu 10 days to hire a defence lawyer for the trial of the Noomadi compensation case.
Muizzu has been charged for his role in the losses incurred to the state in compensating Noomadi Resorts and Residences Private Limited, after the previous administration terminated the agreement signed with the company for the development of 1,100 housing units. During the preliminary hearing of the trial, Muizzu told the court he would only be able to respond to the charges after hiring a defence lawyer, and requested for the maximum duration allowed by law to hire a lawyer. As the state did not object to this request, the court decided to grant Muizzu 10 days to hire a defence lawyer.
Following the termination of the agreement to develop 1,100 housing units in the Maldives, Noomadi filed the case to international arbitration courts to seek compensation from the state. The government reached a settlement agreement with Noomadi for USD 55 million, after the company initially sought a compensation of USD 155 million.
Speaking at the parliament earlier, Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer stated the argument of the state was weakened at the arbitration court following a false statement given by Muizzu in favour of Noomadi. He said the compensation amount would have been much lower had Muizzu not testified against the state.