'No point in deceiving and lying here,' Ammaty tells state lawyers in court

Ahmed Moosa (Ammaty), who was acquitted in the SeaLife fraud case, has warned state prosecutors that they cannot “manipulate” or misrepresent facts during trial proceedings.

Ammaty made the remarks during Tuesday’s High Court hearing, where the state is appealing the Criminal Court’s decision to acquit him of all charges related to the SeaLife housing scandal.

Visibly frustrated during the prolonged hearing, Ammaty accused the prosecution of presenting claims that contradict the case documents.

“The state must speak in court as it happened, as it is in the documents. The state is now claiming that we have booked and sold the flats that do not exist. It didn’t happen at all,” he said.

He added:

“This is the courtroom. In this courtroom you have to talk about what happened, as it is in the documents. There is no point in deceiving and lying here!”

The appeal concerns the Criminal Court’s ruling that SeaLife Global Managing Director Ahmed Moosa (Ammaty) was not guilty of fraud in the case involving payments taken from hundreds of people for flats that were never delivered.

When the appeal opened, the High Court ordered Ammaty’s passport withheld.

The case is being heard by a bench comprising Chief Justice Abdullah Jameel Moosa, Justice Mohamed Shaneez Abdullah, and Justice Abdul Maniu Hussain. Justice Shaneez is presiding. The bench questioned the prosecution extensively during the hearing.