Grant Thornton CEO Faces FCC Over Rs3.6 Million ‘Unclaimed’ Air Mauritius Fee

Sattar Hajee Abdoula, the CEO of Grant Thornton Mauritius and former administrator of Air Mauritius, is facing questioning by the Financial Crimes Commission (FCC) over the alleged failure to reclaim Rs 3.6 million paid to Grant Thornton for “unfinished” Advisory Services.

The controversy surrounds a payment of Rs 3,696,000 made by the national carrier to Grant Thornton in March 2020 for Transaction Advisory Services and Corporate Finance.

Air Mauritius now claims the work was not completed, and the required reports were never submitted.

Abdoula, who was appointed as an administrator of Air Mauritius in April 2020 alongside Arvindsingh Gokhool, was arrested by the FCC on Wednesday, November 19, on a suspected money laundering offense linked to the investigation.

Interrogation on Hold as CEO is Hospitalised

The questioning of Mr. Abdoula, who is the CEO of Grant Thornton, is currently on hold as he remains hospitalised at the C-Care Wellkin clinic in Réduit.

Upon his discharge, he is set to be confronted with emails from 2020 secured by investigators.

These messages, sent to his colleague Mariam Rajabally (a Partner at Grant Thornton), reportedly contain directives and instructions related to the Advisory Services contract.

Wider Probe into Voluntary Administration

The FCC is simultaneously awaiting the findings of the Kroll Forensic report. The international firm was hired in June 2023 to examine the period of voluntary administration between April 2020 and September 2021 to shed light on aircraft sales, leases, and orders.

• During this period, five aircraft were sold, two older Airbus A330s were leased as replacements, and an order for three A350-900s was placed in 2023.
• The FCC is investigating whether the procurement and acquisition of aircraft during Mr. Abdoula’s administration adhered to legal anti-money laundering and anti-corruption procedures. Grant Thornton is reported to have received Rs 141 million from Air Mauritius under this administration.

Seizure of Safe and ‘Luxury Items’

In a related development on Monday afternoon, FCC investigators raided the Grant Thornton Mauritius headquarters on the 9th floor of Ébène Tower to search for documents concerning the Rs 3.6 million payment.

However, when the investigators returned to the Réduit Triangle headquarters, their vehicles were reportedly loaded with cardboard boxes containing liquor bottles.

The Commission also seized a safe and several luxury pens, which will now be examined as part of the evidence.

Source: Defi Media