After a raft of Ponzi schemes being investigated by law enforcement authorities since March, Mauritian Prime Minister says no ministers whatsoever from the national assembly is implicated in money laundering scams .
The allegations centre around an estimated 63 million dollar fraudulent scam which was invested by Whitedot International in which directors of the firm were charged for making people invest in a Ponzi pyramid schemes.
During question time in sesion sitting of the national assembly, Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam was given a barrage of questions by senior MP’s relating to police investigations into a Ponzi money laundering scam which may involve senior ministers.
During question time in sesion sitting of the national assembly, Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam was given a barrage of questions by senior MP’s relating to police investigations into a Ponzi money laundering scam which may involve senior ministers.
” Investigations have not involved members of the national assembly ,however I give serious attention to these allegations which are rumours,” Ramgoolam said
Opposition leader of Alan Ganoo MMM party queried the Prime Minister on if law enforcement authorities have a decisive strategy on tackling rising cases of Ponzi Schemes and if he is hiding information from public view. Additionally MP Ganoo warned the national assembly that investigations should look at if parliamentarians were involved in fraudulent activities ,noting that the rising number of cases the police are dealing with is a shamble.
MSM (Mauritius Socialist Party )Deputy leader Mahen Jhugroo also questioned the Prime Minister if members of the National Assembly were involved in criminal activities such as money laundering and fraud and if so information should be provided to investigators.
MP Mahen Jhugroo, additionally queried the Prime Minister if he was cognisant of individuals removed from a suspect list to prevent political corruption proceedings in the police investigation.
The Mauritian leader told parliament however that this type of organized crime is serious and that “big sharks” will be targeted if sufficient evidence is found.
According to the Prime Minister the continuing financial scandal has seen 70 persons arrested including an unnamed barrister.
He told the national assembly members that the police are investigating the financial scandal and that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions are firmly entrenched in investigations.
Officials from the Independent Commission Against Corruption(ICAC) yesterday conveyed that they will investigate allegations of fraud at the Mauritian Registrar of Companies ,a government bureau tasked with collecting information on all companies operating on the island. According to local media reports over 2000 individuals have been robbed of money in Ponzi and various other money laundering schemes recently, subsequent investigations by the Mauritian Police’s Criminal Investigation Department are on-going.
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