Mauritius - What began as a simple investigation into a suspicious payment is now exposing a large-scale looting of public funds.

What began as a simple investigation into a suspicious payment is now uncovering a large-scale looting of public funds, orchestrated under the guise of a measure intended to reward individuals for their efforts in combating crime.

Massive bank transfers, falsified documents, and fictitious justifications for non-existent informants: the Reward Money system, originally designed to reward informants and motivate officers in the fight against crime, appears to have been exploited as a cash cow for a well-structured network.

Leexpress.com has reported …..

• What was initially suspected to be a case of fraud involving Rs 19 million has, in the space of a few weeks, evolved into a revelation of systemic misappropriation of public funds through the Reward Money mechanism;
• The investigation by the Financial Crimes Commission (FCC) is now like a long dive into an abyss where impunity, complicity, failed controls and greed are mixed; and
• A staggering sum of over Rs 107,000,000 MUR ≈ , approximately GBP 1,819,000, is reportedly held in a single bank account belonging to an Assistant Police Commissioner (ACP).

AND THAT'S THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.

• FCC investigators do not rule out a new raid this week.
• Several police officers of different ranks are reportedly on a list of individuals suspected of having improperly benefited from these funds.
• Interrogations under warning are planned.
• Initially, the FCC had looked into suspicious payments of Rs 3 million to Rs 19 million awarded to a few police officers in September and October 2024.
• However, the investigators soon discovered that the amounts actually at stake were on a completely different scale.

THE SURGE IN NUMBERS IS REVEALING:

• July 2024: Rs 4,586,450 ≈ £77,969.65
• August 2024: Rs 368,900 ≈ £6,271.30
• September 2024: Rs 11,242,900 ≈ £191,129.30
• October 2024: Rs 38,932,450 ≈ £661,851.65

The peak recorded in October is striking, nearly Rs 39 million [£661k] would have been disbursed in a single month, for "rewards".

• Accounting documents recovered by the FCC suggest that a significant portion of these amounts never reached either the actual deserving police officers or the informants.
• Instead, several personal bank accounts, including that of an assistant superintendent of police who had already been questioned, showed abnormal financial movements.

A MEETING IN HIGH PLACES

• Before these revelations, a strategy meeting took place about a month ago between representatives of the FCC, the Prime Minister's Office and the Mauritius Police Force (MPF).
• The objective: a complete overhaul of the Reward Money disbursement system. It is no longer simply a one-off response to a scandal, but an in-depth reform.
• In this context, the FCC has initiated a Prevention Review Exercise under Section 6 of the FCC Act.
• The purpose of this mission is to audit the awards system, identify procedural flaws, and propose mandatory recommendations to strengthen transparency and accountability.

COMMISSION OF INQUIRY OR STRUCTURAL REFORM?

• In response to a question in Parliament, the Prime Minister of Mauritius stated that the FCC's current approach – based on targeted audits and legal recommendations – is already laying the groundwork for sustainable reform.
• He said "It is not enough to identify the culprits. We have to rethink the system so that the same mistakes are no longer possible."
• What began as a simple investigation into a suspicious payment is now exposing a large-scale looting of public funds, orchestrated under the guise of a measure intended to reward individuals for their commitment to combating crime.
• The FCC, by undertaking an ambitious and legally binding reform, could be on the verge of making a historic turning point in police governance in Mauritius. However, everything will depend on the willingness of institutions to address the root causes of the problem – and not just its symptoms.

Source

The above is translated from https://lexpress.mu/s/la-fcc-face-a-un-systeme-mine-par-les-failles-547568?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=LinkedIn#Echobox=1753077898.-2