Monday
18th Nov 2024
Dhivehi Edition
Moosa Manik and President Solih
TMJ has learnt that Rahaa Resort, a property owned by former Deputy Speaker of Parliament Moosa Manik, owes the state MVR 43 million (US$ 2.8 million) in rent and penalties for late rent.
A senior official of Ministry of Tourism confirmed the value of unpaid bills to TMJ.
Rahaa Resort is one of the 12 resorts listed by Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) as rent and penalty dodgers.
The property opened in 2019. MIRA had, at that time, held off clearance on the property, over unpaid dues to the agency. MIRA clearance was necessary to obtain operating license. However, this was cleared when then-Tourism Minister Ali Waheed intervened and facilitated the clearance.
Manik and his children, Bushainath Moosa, Mudhrikath Moosa, Mariyam Maahin Moosa, and Aminath Malsa Moosa are listed as shareholders. Mudhrikath serves as Managing Director.
This is not the only pending dues for the property. National carrier, Maldivian, recently revealed that Rahaa Resort has to pay over US$ 500,000 to the airline. The official reveals that they had made several attempts to recover the amount. Even as late as last week, the company had requested the resort to provide a payment schedule – a request that was ignored.
Following this revelation, Manik had contacted Dhiyares, following their attempts to secure a comment from Maldivian on the issue. He added that Dhiyares was more than welcome to publish about unpaid bills but have to be prepared to face consequences.
Manik is a close associate of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. He was one of the first people to visit President Solih after he underwent thyroid surgery in March this year. Manik had posted a picture of the two on his twitter account - President Solih’s surgical bandage was visible.
Since then, Manik had taken a strong stance with the administration, actively defending President Solih and his allies, including Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail.