Ali Waheed, Member of Parliament for Thoddu Constituency and one of the most well-known political leaders in the Maldives has defended buying millions-worth property in the newly developed Hulhumalé City. Ali Waheed recently won a 1539 square-feet land for residence purposes, while his wife won the adjacent property of 1572.775 square-feet in the new round of land-for-residence purposes auction in Hulhumalé. Ali Waheed and his wife won these two properties by proposing two of the highest rates for them, among other terms and conditions. One of these properties was bought for a sum of MRF 4.6 million, while the other was acquired at a price of more than MRF 4.7 million, to be paid in installments after a down payment. Ali Waheed, below 30 years of age and not having engaged in any high-profile business activities before he was elected to the Parliament, and not having completed one term of office, was accused of possible corruption after news of his newly-bought property was reported. The accusations had been made on the basis that Ali Waheed was reportedly offered huge amounts in bribes for ditching his former party, the main opposition Divehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), and joining the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). Ali Waheed was one of the most outspoken and prominent opposition figures when he was in DRP, and served the party as Deputy Leader. However, during the parliamentary recess during May this year, he left DRP and joined MDP. Since then, opposition leaders including some of his closest friends from DRP had repeatedly claimed that Ali Waheed received a huge sum of money and other things, including a residential flat in Malaysia, for signing to MDP. The matter has been referred for investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission of the Maldives. Ali Waheed has vehemently rejected that he received anything from anybody as a reward for joining the ruling party. However, when news of him winning the auction for two properties in Hulhumalé was reported, many have claimed afresh that he could not have done this if he had in fact ditched his party and gone over to MDP “empty-handed” as he claimed. In a public statement issued today, Ali Waheed defended his transaction with Hulhumalé Development Corporation in buying one property in his own name. He said that he had bought the property after a down payment of MRF 1 million, and that the balance would be paid in installments over a period of 5 years. Ali Waheed claimed that journalists were trying to damage his reputation by accusing him of bribery. “The accusations that what I spend in my own name is spent from bribed money is nothing but a calculated attack on my reputation”, said Ali Waheed. Ali Waheed stated that he was not a person who made transactions in hiding, and that he would buy real estate and do business with them in the future. He said that he had the right to do that just as anyone else, and that there were many people in the country who supported him and were prepared to “invest in the brand of his name”. However, Ali Waheed’s statement made no mention of the second property in question, bought in the name of his wife.