The Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has appealed a ruling by the Employment Tribunal in favor of the corporation’s former Chief Business Officer (CBO) Ahmed Yameen, who was dismissed in February in the wake of a criminal investigation into allegations of corruption in the award of housing from Hulhumale’, including land and apartments.
Yameen, who served as HDC’s CBO and head of Media Department, was among over a dozen employees who got fired after documents leaked on social media in December 2024 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.
The scandal prompted criminal investigations by the police and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
However, it remains unclear if and how Yameen is linked to the case.
Following his dismissal, Yameen filed an unlawful termination case with the Employment Tribunal, which he won in August. The Tribunal ordered HDC to pay him MVR 144,000 in compensation for six months of salary, as well as MVR 20,000 in legal fees.
The Employment Tribunal instructed HDC to pay Yameen in two months as well as to reinstate him to his former position.
The HDC subsequently filed an appeal with the High Court. While court records show the petition was filed by HDC on August 31, it is unclear if it has been registered.
The police had ordered travel bans on 24 people in connection to the investigation into the corruption case, but lifted the ban in March.