Relax Ferry Service, a speedboat operator, has claimed paying MVR 1.4 million to then-managing director of Housing Development Corporation (HDC) in early December to build a speedboat.
News outlets reported on Sunday that the Police found over MVR 1 million in a bag during a search of Fazul's home.
Relax Ferry Service, via a post on Facebook, said they conducted a transaction with Fazul’s personal company in 2022 to build a speedboat. The company said they paid Fazul MVR 1.4 million in cash in early December to build another speedboat as the speedboat delivered earlier was of good quality.
Fazul, who was appointed as the managing director of state-owned HDC in November 2023, resigned from the post on December 21, following his implication in allegations of corruption against the HDC in the award of housing, including land and apartments from Hulhumale’.
A flurry of documents leaked on social media on December 18 appeared to show that multiple people were given land from Hulhumale’ under the ‘Binveriya’ scheme despite not being on the list of recipients released in 2023 during the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) administration.
This includes Fazul’s older brother Mohamed Fazeel Rasheed, the deputy managing director of Male’ Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC)
Fazul denied the allegations against HDC, insisting that the corporation has no involvement in issuing plots under the ‘Binveriya’ scheme.
He also played off the implication of his brother as a mere “coincidence”, and insisted that the situation does not pose a conflict of interest.
Fazul tendered his resignation on December 21, after more documents leaked on social media suggesting multiple individuals were issued apartments from Vinares by the HDC based on forged payment slips to SeaLife Global after it was decided to compensate victims of the SeaLife scam with the apartments.
In his resignation later, Fazul maintained his innocence but said he decided to resign to “make way for the investigation” into the case.