Qasim Ibrahim

Qasim Ibrahim, NIIV, NMSI (born 30 August 1951), also known as Burumaa Qasim, is a Maldivian politician, business magnate and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the country's wealthiest businessmen as the founder and chairman of the Villa Group. Ibrahim ran as a member of the Jumhooree Party in the presidential elections of 2013, but lost in the first round. He is also the leader of the party. He also competed for presidential elections of 2023; and lost.

Business career

In 1969, Ibrahim began work as a clerk at the government hospital in Malé. In 1973, he left the hospital to work as a manager at M/S Alia Furniture Mart. He also worked temporarily for Crescent, a government trading organization.

In 1974, Ibrahim joined an outlet of the Maldivian government's BoduStore, now known as the State Trading Organization.

On 14 July 1995, with the primary objective of promoting Villa resorts, Villa Holidays Touristik GmbH opened in Frankfurt, Germany and was incorporated with a paid-upfront-capital of DM 499,999. The company acts as a wholesaler of holiday vacation packages to the Maldives, an agent for sales of hotel rooms and air tickets, and as an international vehicle for acquiring and trading tourism related properties and real estate such as hotels and resorts. It has since become a major subsidiary promoting the group's own resorts Fun Island, Paradise Island, Sun Island, Holiday Island and Royal Island.

Villa Hotels, Tokyo and Villa Hotels, Hong Kong were established in 2001 and 2002 respectively.

Ibrahim has also funded many infrastructure projects in several islands across the archipelago, most notably in constructing new harbors, schools and mosques. He is currently working on setting up a fully-operational General Hospital on Maamigili Island, which will feature the first dedicated cancer treatment facility in the country.

Political career

Ibrahim was first elected as a Member of the Maldivian Parliament in 1989. In addition, he has held and still holds various other posts in a number of government committees and regional trade bodies, including:

Presidential Candidate of the Jumhooree Party – 7 September 2013 President of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) Member of Parliament Minister of Home Affairs Presidential Candidate of the Jumhooree Party – October 2008 elections Leader of the Jumhooree Party : 2008 – Governor of the Central Bank of Maldives – July 2005 to July 2008 Minister of Finance – July 2005 to July 2008 Governor of Maldives Monetary Authority : 2005 – 2007 Board member of the Bank of Maldives

Ibrahim joined the MDP-led coalition in the second round of the elections and helped Mohamed Nasheed secure a historic victory and bring an end to the thirty-year rule of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Ibrahim initially joined President Nasheed's government as Minister for Home Affairs but resigned 20 days later, citing his dislike of President Nasheed's privatization policies. He became vocally opposed to Nasheed's government and was accused of having funded the anti-Nasheed protests that began in early 2012 that ultimately led to Nasheed's resignation after pressure from police and the army on 7 February 2012.

In 2023, Qasim Ibrahim was selected as the presidential primary for the Jumhooree Party to contest for the 2023 Maldivian presidential election. This time, the Jumhooree Party ran without a coalition, marking the first time. Qasim selected his running mate as Ameen Ibrahim. At the election day, Qasim received 5460 votes and didn't qualify for the runoff election. Senior members of JP has expressed support for President Solih during the runoff election.

In 2024, Qasim was the only member from his party to get a spot in the 2024 Maldivian parliamentary election.

Political activism and imprisonment

Ibrahim had been imprisoned for political reasons both during Gayoom's regime as well as Nasheed's brief reign. He was arrested in 2009 on suspicion that he was bribing MPs to vote against the government of President Nasheed. He was later released without charge. He is currently representing the Maamigili Constituency in the Maldives Parliament.

Imprisonment

Qasim Ibrahim was arrested for speaking against the government on rally held by the Maldives United Opposition. He was accused of leading a failed bid in March to impeach Speaker Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed, a close ally of president Abdulla Yameen.

Controversies

In September 2008, the Auditor General of the Maldives submitted a report to the People's Majlis which was published on the website of the Auditor General's office. It stated that the Villa Group had been found to be involved in the illicit trading of shares.

In July 2010, State Minister of Finance Ahmed Assad stated in a President's Office Press Briefing that Maldives was facing hurdles in borrowing money internationally because of a specific Majlis member who was borrowing large sums of money and lowering the country's credit rating. It was stated that this Member has made a request to the government to give him a ‘letter of no objection’ to borrow another large sum. Though the Minister refused to name the Majlis member at the conference, it was widely assumed in the Maldivian media that the Majlis member in question was Qasim Ibrahim.

In February 2013, Qasim Ibrahim, as the Parliament's representative to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), accused UN Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers Gabriela Knaul of lying and joking about the state of the Maldivian judicial system. Knaul's statements highlighted that the JSC – mandated with the appointment, transfer and removal of judges – was unable to perform its constitutional duty adequately in its current form. Her comment was among a number of preliminary observations on the Maldives’ judiciary and wider legal system following an eight-day fact-finding mission.

While Qasim Ibrahim was Finance Minister, there were rumors regarding the nature of the European Investment Bank's (EIB) investment in Maldivian tourism. The European Investment Bank had invested to support the development of tourism after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. According to the ECD in Colombo, there was no co-ordination between the EIB and the ECD during the design stage of the loans. Only after the ECD reported indications of misuse of money to EIB were some consultations held. Overall co-ordination between EIB and ECD is very limited.

Awards

Ibrahim has received many awards by the Maldivian government. In 1988, he received the General Service Incentive Award for his contributions to the development of businesses in the country. In 1995, Ibrahim received the same award for his contributions to the tourism sector of the country. In 2007, Ibrahim received the National Award of Honour for his contributions to the Maldivian community. In 2013, Ibrahim was awarded the Order of Muleege Dynasty by president Mohamed Waheed Hassan. In 2025, Ibrahim was also awarded the Order of Izzuddin by president Mohamed Muizzu due to Ibrahim's prominent role in developing the political and constitutional role of the country.