Bank of Maldives (BML) has put Thaa Atoll Kalhudhiyafushi up for sale for USD 29.5 million.
The island that was being developed to a resort called Gran Melia Huravee Maldives by Huravee International in collaboration with Spanish hotel chain Meliá Hotels International was scheduled to open in 2017, is yet to be complete.
The Civil Court granted the bank the rights to sell Kalhudhiyafushi to recover dues payable after Huravee International had failed to honour the banking facility agreement in 2018.
Interested parties have been requested to submit their proposals to the meeting room located on the sixth floor of BML headquarters at 4 pm on October 20 and parties selected for the open auction are required to put down bank security of USD 100,000.
Huravee International is co-owned by Hussain Manik Dhonmanik, a German citizen, and two other Maldivian citizens.
Kalhudhiyafushi was originally leased to Hussain Manik Dhonmanik for an acquisition cost of USD 150,000 on August 24th 2015, through Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC). According to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC)’s investigative report on the MMPRC embezzlement case, Hussain Manik Dhonmanik paid the acquisition fee for Kalhudhiyafushi using the money he received from SOF Private Limited – a company accused of laundering funds embezzled from MMPRC.