FCC Probes 1,595 Cases; Rs 20 Billion Assets Under Investigation

The Financial Crimes Commission (FCC) has unveiled a staggering caseload, with 1,595 ongoing investigations into alleged fraud, corruption, and money laundering since the beginning of the year, involving assets under investigation valued at a colossal Rs 20 billion.

The most significant case highlighted in the Commission’s recent report, presented following the International Corruption Day, involves Malagasy national Mamy Ravatomanga.

The former aide to Madagascar’s ex-president Andry Rajoelina is currently detained at the Eastern High Security Prison in Melrose, facing a Criminal Attachment Order of Rs 7.3 billion—the largest on the FCC’s list. The money laundering case against Ravatomanga is valued at 163 million US dollars.

The FCC’s official bulletin noted that Ravatomanga’s case involves “both money laundering and corruption charges, demonstrating the complexity of following sophisticated financial networks designed to obscure true ownership and fund movement.”

Major Investigations Unveiled

Two other major investigations feature prominently in the FCC’s crackdown:

• Mauritius Investment Corporation (MIC): The investigation concerns the management of the central bank subsidiary during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an attributed loss of Rs 3.5 billion.
• This includes Rs 2.4 billion linked to the acquisition of the Ambre Hotel. Former Finance Minister Renganaden Padayachy is cited as a prime suspect in the MIC case.
  • The FCC alleges that the MIC, “established in 2020 to provide Covid-19 business relief,… allegedly became a vehicle for high-level embezzlement.”
• Police Force High-Level Corruption: The Operation DeepCode of Reward Money, targeting the highest echelons of the police force under the previous Jugnauth government, is a major contributor to the Rs 20 billion total.
  • This probe involved taking statements from 395 individuals, including 92 under warning. A series of arrests and charges have been made, including those against a former Police Commissioner, Anil Kumar Dip, and high-ranking officers such as Ashik Jagai, Lilram Deal, and Dhunraz Gungadin.

Further Ongoing Probes

Other complex investigations cited by the Commission include:

• The Toxic Loans of the Maradiva.
• The Lakaz Mama Connection.
• Cases involving the Silver Bank.
• The oil supply contract granted to the Mercantile & Maritme Group by the State Trading Corporation (STC).
• Contracts allocated by the Central Water Authority (CWA) under Prakash Maunthrooa.

Asset Recovery Summary

The FCC provided further statistical data detailing its success in freezing and confiscating assets:

• Attached Assets: Rs 9.9 billion
• Already Confiscated Assets: Rs 90 million
• Unexplained Assets under Review: Rs 607 million
• Jewellery and Valuables: Rs 225 million
• Claims in Pending Cases: Rs 550 million across 55 cases

The Commission also noted upcoming realisation/sales of assets, including:

• Real estate properties valued at Rs 25 million.
• Luxury cars valued at Rs 24 million.
• Pleasure boats valued at Rs 7 million.

A spokesperson for the FCC stated that “every assets we trace, we freeze and monitor is a weapon against corruption and other financial crimes.”

Source: Le Mauricien