Seegolam Released on Bail Amid MIC Rs300M Alleged Fraud

The former Governor of the Bank of Mauritius has been granted conditional release following his appearance at the Port-Louis court early Thursday afternoon. He faces a provisional charge of “fraud by abuse of position.” Harvesh Seegolam is required to pay two bail amounts of Rs 300,000 each and sign a debt acknowledgment of Rs 5 million.

The court has imposed several conditions on him: he must reside at a fixed address, refrain from interfering with witnesses in this case, report to the nearest police station to his home daily between 6 am and 6 pm, and remain reachable by investigators.

Seegolam was arrested in the early hours of Thursday by the Financial Crimes Commission (FCC) and detained at the Vacoas detention centre.

His arrest is part of an investigation into an alleged misappropriation of Rs 300 million, to the detriment of the Mauritius Investment Corporation (MIC), benefiting Apavou Hotels Ltd.

The case was reignited following revelations from Louis Rivalland, a former Independent Non-Executive Director of the MIC, who exposed the falsification of a report related to the acquisition of 70% of the shares in the Ambre Hotel in Palmar.

The board had approved a buyout amounting to Rs 2.1 billion; however, a staggering €48 million, approximately Rs 2.4 billion, was ultimately disbursed.

In a dramatic turn of events, Harvesh Seegolam has implicated former Finance Minister Renganaden Padayachy in this scandal.

Padayachy was arrested on Wednesday 9th April and is also set to appear before the Port-Louis court on Thursday, 10th April.

Source: Defi Media