The High Court has upheld the registrar's decision to reject an appeal filed by the Prosecutor General's Office in the case of former Vice President Abdulla Jihad, who is facing charges related to a controversial 2013 joint venture agreement involving the development of Fushidhiggaru Falhu.

The case centers around Jihad’s role as Minister of Finance when he entered into a joint venture agreement with a foreign company to develop Fushidhiggaru Falhu. The agreement granted the Maldives government only a 25% stake in the project, which was made against the advice of the Maldivian government. As a result, Jihad was charged with mismanagement of state assets.

In 2023, the Criminal Court ruled that the case could not proceed due to errors in the investigation. The Prosecutor General's Office, unsatisfied with this decision, appealed to the High Court, arguing that the Criminal Court’s ruling lacked clarity and sufficient reasoning. The prosecution requested that the High Court order a retrial of the case in the lower court.

The High Court had initially dismissed the case after it was found that Jihad’s address, provided by the Prosecutor General's Office, was unclear, making it impossible to summon him for hearings. The court allowed the Prosecutor General's Office to resubmit the case once Jihad’s address was confirmed.

The prosecution filed the case again on October 15, 2024, but the High Court registrar decided to reject it, citing that the resubmission was past the deadline of October 12, 2024. The Prosecutor General’s Office appealed the registrar’s decision, but the Judges' Panel, after reviewing the appeal, upheld the registrar’s ruling.

This ruling effectively ends the prosecution's efforts to have the case retried, despite ongoing concerns about the legality of the original agreement and Jihad's involvement.