The Criminal Court of the Maldives has granted bail for the Managing Director of SeaLife Global Inc Private Limited Ahmed Moosa, who scammed hundreds of people by taking advanced payments for housing units that were never built.
The Criminal Court released Ahmed Moosa on bail after assigning two of his siblings, Mariyam Naeema and Afeefa Moosa, as guarantors. Both siblings signed on as guarantors to assure Ahmed Moosa will not flee from court.
In addition, the SeaLife MD is also required to fulfill certain conditions while on bail. As such, he is required to attend and sign in at the police headquarters everyday at 0900hrs. He is also prohibited from having any communication with witnesses presented by the state in the trial against him. He is banned from travelling out of Male’ without a permit of the court, and is required to attend all hearings and fully cooperate with the trial.
Ahmed Moosa had fled the country after taking advanced payments from over prospective flat buyers under a housing project awarded to SeaLife Global in 2016. An Interpol red notice was issued against him in April 2019. He remained at large until he was finally apprehended in Sri Lanka in February this year.
The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has pressed 42 criminal charges against Ahmed Moosa, including multiple counts of theft, fraud and deception. If the charges are proven, he faces a prison sentence of up to 65 years.
SeaLife Global was contracted to develop 3,000 housing units in Hulhumale’ in 2016. However, it was later revealed the company was selected without assessing its capacity to conduct a project of this scale. Although the apartments had never been built, the company took advanced payments from several prospective flat buyers, of which 203 people later charged the company in court to seek compensation.