High Court Overturns Passport Seizure Orders in Housing Scheme Corruption Probe

The High Court has annulled the Criminal Court’s decision to confiscate the passport of former Housing Minister Akram Kamaluddin, stating that the order violated established judicial and legal procedures.

The Criminal Court had initially ordered the seizure of Akram Kamaluddin’s passport for a period of one month beginning on 20 December 2024, in connection with an ongoing corruption investigation. The case relates to the Binveriya and Gedhoruveriya housing schemes carried out under the previous administration. A subsequent ruling issued on 19 January 2025 extended the passport seizure until 18 February 2025.

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In a related decision, the High Court also overturned the order to seize the passport of Mohamed Arif, who previously served as a Senior Executive Director at the Ministry of Housing. Both individuals had been subject to investigation over alleged misconduct in the implementation of state-backed housing programmes.

Despite the High Court’s ruling, Prosecutor General Abbas Shareef has directed investigative bodies to continue probing suspected irregularities and corruption associated with the housing allocation schemes of the former administration.

Investigations are also underway into several other cases. These include allegations concerning Mohamed Fazeel, the brother of former Housing Development Corporation (HDC) Managing Director Ibrahim Fazul Rasheed, who is suspected of having received a plot of land in Hulhumalé under questionable circumstances.