ACC Seeks Charges Against Former Thinadhoo Council Officials Over Alleged Land Allocation

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has decided to seek criminal charges against four former officials of the GDh. Thinadhoo Council over the alleged unlawful allocation of three plots of land to a private company for cooking gas-related business.

The ACC said the former council officials allegedly bypassed the required competitive bidding process when allocating the land, giving the company an undue advantage.

The officials named in the case are former Mayor Saud Ali and former council members Aminath Naseema, Ahumeema Ahmed and Aishath Liusha Zubair.

According to the ACC, the council members voted at the council’s 111th official meeting to allocate land to the company without issuing a public announcement or conducting a competitive bidding process.

The Commission said the decision was contrary to the Regulation on the Allocation of Land for Non-Residential Purposes, which requires industrial or commercial land to be leased through a competitive bidding process.

Following the council’s decision, Saud Ali, acting on behalf of the council, signed an agreement with the company on November 1, 2023, under which three plots, each measuring 2,000 square feet, were leased to the company, the ACC said.

The Commission concluded on September 10, 2026, that the case should be forwarded to the Prosecutor General’s Office for criminal prosecution.

The ACC is seeking prosecution of all four former officials for abuse of official position under Section 513(b) of Law No. 9/2014, the Maldives Penal Code.

The ACC’s decision means the case will now be referred to the Prosecutor General’s Office for consideration of the requested criminal charges.