Police in Mauritius have issued an arrest warrant against former Central Bank Governor or Mauritius in an inquiry related to a defraud case.
Former central bank governor, Harvesh Kumar Seegolam, is out of the country right now and would be arrested as soon as he returned, although, doubts loom over whether he will return to the country or stay absconded due to the arrest warrant.
It would seem that the new government is bent on proving how corrupt the previous government was and this arrest warrant is the first step towards making a statement.
The action by the police anti-money-laundering unit is the first significant one from the government of Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, who said last week the outgoing government had falsified the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), budget deficit and public debt figures for years.
In a report issued to parliament, Ramgoolam also accused the central bank of printing money to fund the government’s Mauritius Investment Corporation (MIC), set up in 2020 to help companies deal with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The printing of money by the Bank of Mauritius to fund the MIC was an irresponsible act which has had deleterious effects on the monetary system, more so that the banking system was already flush with excess liquidity,” the report said.
But allegations of corruption and fears around weakening civil rights in the country grew under then-Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, whose administration was also accused of playing a role in unauthorised wiretapping activities.
Which government is better or worse, time will tell but it would seem that tables are turning pretty fast and all the allies and supporters of former prime minister Pravin Jugnauth should be worried.