Man, 48, Posed as Government Advisor in Massive Housing Scam

A 48-year-old man who allegedly posed as a Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) advisor has been arrested in Grand-Baie following a string of high-value property scams targeting local families and foreign retirees.

Mahneu Valaven was detained by the Northern Division Crime Intelligence Unit on Monday, 25 May, at La Croisette shopping complex.

He is accused of running a fraudulent scheme offering seized National Housing Development Company (NHDC) properties for sale in Mont-Choisy. Following his arrest, Valaven was handed over to the Grand-Baie Criminal Investigation Division (CID).

The arrest follows a formal complaint by a 54-year-old sales representative from St-François.

She claims Valaven convinced her that the government was reselling repossessed NHDC houses in the north of the island.

According to police reports, Valaven met the victim, alongside her son and daughter, on 29 December 2025 near a petrol station in Mont-Choisy, where they toured two properties.

To “initiate procedures,” the suspect allegedly demanded a series of cash payments:

• Rs 14,000 to open the file.
• Rs 100,000 as a primary deposit.
• Rs 100,000 a few days later, under the guise of District Council fees.
• Multiple subsequent payments for legal fees, land surveyor costs, permits, land contracts, and administrative documentation.

These cash transactions took place across multiple northern localities, including Grand-Baie, Goodlands, Mapou, Daruty, Calodyne, and Pointe-aux-Canonniers.

In total, the victim handed over Rs 412,600, with a promised property delivery date of 19 March 2026.

The fraud unravelled weeks later when the victim discovered the suspect had no connection to the PMO.

Although Valaven subsequently refunded Rs 30,000 to the victim’s daughter and promised to pay the remainder, he broke off all contact. The family estimates their total financial loss at Rs 382,600.

French Pensioner Targeted in Separate Luxury Villa Scam

In a separate, linked property fraud investigation in the north, an 85-year-old retired French national has filed a police complaint after being defrauded out of thousands of euros.

The victim and her daughter first met a man known as “Sandy” in 2022 in Pointe-aux-Piments. The suspect reportedly drove the women in his personal car to view a luxury villa in Mont-Choisy, offering it for purchase.

Believing the property was genuinely on the market, the victim was told that a reservation fee was mandatory to secure the villa, which was valued between 120,000 and 150,000 euros.

Trusting the “salesman”, the pensioner handed over approximately 20,000 euros in instalments at various locations, including Triolet, Pamplemousses, and Pointe-aux-Piments.

The victims later discovered that the villa was already occupied and had never been up for sale.

According to the complainant, the suspect had also taken copies of her passport and disability card under the pretext of arranging her local pension for her permanent relocation to Mauritius.

When the two women later confronted the suspect at his workplace — a car wash in Triolet — he denied knowing them and issued verbal threats. Police investigations into both files remain ongoing.

Source: l’Express