Ramgoolam Case: Court Orders Partial Disclosure of Documents
The case referred to as the "excessive payments" involving Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam has seen a new development this Thursday before the Financial Crimes Division (FCD). Magistrates Razia Jannoo-Jaunbocus and Abdool Raheem Tajoodeen made their ruling on the disclosure motion requested by the PM's defense.
In their decision, the magistrates ordered the disclosure of only two categories of documents:
• Relevant entries from the Diary Book, if they have not already been provided;
• Documents related to Mutual Legal Assistance.
All other disclosure requests were rejected, as the Court deemed them irrelevant in the current context of the trial.
The case has been adjourned to December 16, 2025.
It is important to note that the defense, represented by Senior Counsel Robin Ramburn, was seeking access to a wide range of documents related to the initiation and progress of the investigation in 2015. They particularly wanted to obtain the identity of the informant, any exchanges between political figures and investigators, as well as internal documents from the Central CID and other cited personalities.
On the other hand, Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Me Nataraj Muneesamy, argued that the legal obligation for disclosure had already been fully met in 2017 and that the new requests were "too broad, speculative," or involved information protected by public interest.
In this case, Navin Ramgoolam faces 23 charges related to cash payments exceeding the legal limit set by the Financial Intelligence and Anti-Money Laundering Act (FIAMLA).
According to the indictment, between January 31, 2009, and February 7, 2015, he allegedly accepted a total of Rs 63.8 million in cash beyond the authorized threshold, which is Rs 500,000 per transaction.
