Attempted Influence Peddling: The Secret Meeting of Fakim and Ravatomanga Under Investigation by the FCC
A major investigation is shaking the Financial Crimes Commission (FCC). A secret meeting in Quatre-Bornes involving former commissioner Junaid Fakim, Malagasy tycoon Mamy Ravatomanga, and his associates is under scrutiny, while Acting Director Sanjay Dawoodarry, who is also implicated, reaffirms his commitment to combatting fraud.
The FCC's investigation into influential businessman Mamy Ravatomanga in Mauritius has uncovered a scandal: an attempted influence peddling involving one of its commissioners, lawyer Junaid Haroon Fakim, who was forced to resign over the weekend.
Since yesterday, Monday, October 27, the FCC has been focusing its investigations on a "secret meeting" that reportedly took place in mid-October at a house in Quatre-Bornes, attended by former commissioner Junaid Fakim, Mamy Ravatomanga, his right-hand man David Christian Thomas, and Nasser Beekhy. The latter is suspected of having acted as a link between the Malagasy businessman and Junaid Fakim. The meeting allegedly involved other individuals as well. During this exchange, Mamy Ravatomanga is said to have asked Junaid Fakim for details about the ongoing investigation.
The FCC believes that the meeting between Mamy Ravatomanga and Junaid Fakim was intended to influence the course of the investigation. After this meeting, the businessman went to a clinic in Phoenix, where he remains hospitalized. On Friday, October 24, the FCC arrested him for money laundering. Upon his discharge from the clinic, the Malagasy magnate will be taken to Reduit Triangle for questioning.
Investigators discovered this "secret meeting" after examining communications on David Christian Thomas's phone, which allowed them to intercept a text message sent to his boss, Mamy Ravatomanga, discussing the potential holding of this meeting with a commissioner. Under pressure from questions, David Christian Thomas broke down, revealing the alleged role of Junaid Haroon Fakim in this unfolding saga. Ravatomanga’s right-hand man also disclosed Nasser Beekhy's intermediary role.
At this stage, the commission is conducting final checks before Junaid Fakim must present himself at the FCC headquarters as a suspect to be questioned about his alleged connections with Mamy Ravatomanga. The analysis of Nasser Beekhy’s phone, held since Friday at Moka Detention Centre, is expected to be a key step before the former FCC commissioner’s hearing.
Junaid Fakim will have to explain to investigators why he agreed to meet with the Malagasy businessman knowing he was under FCC scrutiny, and why he did not disclose the nature of that meeting. Other individuals present during this encounter will also be questioned by the commission.
On Monday, the hearing of the Malagasy businessman’s right-hand man, David Jean Christian Thomas, aged 38, resumed at Reduit Triangle, in the presence of his lawyer, Me Arrasen Kallee. The accused, who had been hospitalized since Friday evening, was granted permission to leave on Monday and was provisionally charged with money laundering before the Pamplemousses court. After his questioning, he was returned to police custody. The FCC is investigating sums of money held by the suspect in a bank account belonging to Mamy Ravatomanga.
For his part, Nasser Beekhy, who has retained the services of lawyers Samad Golamaully and Ashley Hurhangee, confirmed during his interrogation on Monday afternoon that he knows Mamy Ravatomanga and David Christian Thomas.
