“Merely Saying Israelis Won’t Register Property in Rasmalé Is Not Enough”: Former MWSC MD Matheen

Former Managing Director of Male' Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC), Abdul Matheen, has said that the government’s assurance that properties in Rasmalé will not be registered in the names of Israeli nationals is not sufficient. In a post on X, Matheen called on the government to disclose who the shareholders of Eagle Hills are and whose money is being invested in the Rasmalé project, stating that such fundamental information must be made clear regarding all investments, large or small. Matheen said that if the government is honest, it must disclose the main agreement of the Rasmalé project to the public. He criticised that the laws being cited are left on paper to rot, with no enforcement. “If the laws were implemented, around a hundred thousand foreign workers would not be standing on the streets of the Maldives,” he said. In a subsequent post today, Matheen said that the N. Atoll Ilaa project is also being advertised in Israel, and that the chairman of the company appointed by the Maldivian government for the project said in December 2025 that many Israelis have hopes of buying homes there. He also noted that Pizza Hut and KFC outlets on Malé's Ameenee Magu were shut down not because their businesses operated under an Israeli name, but because reports showed the franchise was financially supporting Israeli aggression in various ways. Matheen highlighted that one of the largest shareholders in the American restaurant chains servicing the Middle East is Mohamed Alabbār, whose Eagle Hills company owns Rasmalé. He warned that if matters are not handled transparently, the outcome will be clear, saying, “If a tree is planted on a garbage heap, it will grow into a garbage heap.”