Mauritius’ former finance minister, Renganaden Padayachy, and the ex-governor of the Bank of Mauritius, Harvesh Seegolam, have been arrested in connection with an ongoing corruption investigation, the Financial Crimes Commission (FCC) announced late on Wednesday.
The arrests relate to alleged fraudulent payments of around one million US dollars made from the Mauritius Investment Corporation (MIC), a company fully owned by the central bank, to a polling and analytics firm named Menlo Parks Ltd/Pulse Analytics.
According to local newspaper Le Mauricien, a director at the MIC claimed he was coerced into authorising the payment on 27 October last year—just ahead of legislative elections—following direct instructions from Seegolam.
“The FCC confirms that Mr Renganaden Padayachy, former Minister of Finance, and Mr Harvesh Kumar Seegolam, former Governor of the Bank of Mauritius, have been arrested,” read the commission’s statement. It said the arrests were made as part of the investigation into the MIC case and were “for the offence of fraud by abuse of position”, though no further details were provided.
Both Padayachy and Seegolam have previously denied any wrongdoing.
Seegolam was initially arrested and released on bail in January, while Padayachy was prohibited from leaving Mauritius during the same month and warned he would face arrest if he attempted to travel.
The allegations emerged in the lead-up to last year’s general elections, which saw a coalition led by Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam return to power after a decade in opposition. The campaign was overshadowed by concerns about economic stability, democratic integrity, and a phone-tapping scandal that significantly damaged the popularity of the previous administration.
