Once one of Noonu atoll’s healthiest reefs, Dhigufaru lagoon is now a cluster of reclaimed islands, the site of the Maldives’ first “sustainable township”.
Project Ayla is being built for wealthy foreigners to buy homes and stay, under the Pearl Residence visa developed with Henley & Partners. While Rasmalé dominates the headlines, Ayla has drawn little attention. The tax on a first sale is 1 per cent, the facilities the law requires are missing from the developer’s filings, and the authorities would not say whether money-laundering risks in the zones have been assessed.
Our drone footage from July, and the full story, reported in collaboration with the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP): https://maldivesindependent.com/politics/residents-not-guests-ayla-henley-and-the-pearl-visa-402e