‘Toxic Loans’ of Rs 470 Million from SBM: Dhanyavartam Ltd - Kobita Jugnauth and Her Brother Sanjiv Ramdanee Under Investigation
The investigation by the Financial Crimes Commission (FCC) regarding the loan granted to Dhyanavartam Limited, owner of the Maradiva hotel, continues to escalate and is now broadening to include wider responsibilities. Following the arrest of Sanjiv Ramdanee, the company's CEO and brother of Kobita Jugnauth, as well as the brother-in-law of former Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, and Premchand Mungur, former CEO of the State Bank of Mauritius (SBM), investigators are now focusing on former members of the bank's board of directors. They are trying to understand how a loan of Rs 470 million could have been granted to a company whose financial situation, according to initial findings, lacked the necessary guarantees and repayment capacity for such financing.
The developments in this case stem from documents and testimonies collected by the FCC over the past several weeks. Initial findings indicate that Dhyanavartam Limited was already in a significant debt situation at the time the loan application was submitted to SBM. The company's financial reserves and the guarantees offered did not meet the usual criteria required to validate such a large loan. Despite this, the amount of Rs 470 million was approved and made available.
A central element of this investigation is based on the documents presented to the SBM board. The FCC accuses Premchand Mungur of misleading the board members through a report that described Dhyanavartam Limited as a reliable and stable company capable of benefiting from the requested loan. This document allegedly served as the basis for the board's decision to approve the financing request, despite the company's precarious financial situation.
To understand how this favorable presentation was recorded in the minutes, investigators are looking into a crucial meeting held in mid-July 2024 at SBM Tower in Port-Louis. This meeting involved Premchand Mungur and Sanjiv Ramdanee. The investigations aim to clarify the discussions that occurred there and to determine whether essential information regarding the actual solvency of Dhyanavartam Limited was omitted, minimized, or presented in a way that could influence the board's decision.
Data collected by the FCC indicate that at that time, Dhyanavartam Limited was already experiencing financial instability, accumulating debts and lacking sufficient guarantees to cover a loan of this magnitude. In this context, the validation of financing granted to the Maradiva hotel raises many questions, which investigators are now trying to answer clearly and precisely.
The arrest of Sanjiv Ramdanee, as the CEO of the company benefiting from the loan, is part of a detailed verification process of the steps taken to obtain the funds. Investigators are trying to establish whether information was deliberately concealed or misrepresented to justify the financing request. Similarly, the arrest of Premchand Mungur aims to clarify his role in the decision-making process, particularly regarding the minutes that may have influenced the SBM board.
Beyond these two arrests, the investigation is now taking on a broader dimension with the monitoring of former members of the bank's board. The FCC is examining their level of knowledge about Dhyanavartam Limited's financial situation at the time the loan was approved. They will need to clarify whether they were informed of the company's difficulties or if the documents submitted during internal meetings presented a completely different picture of reality.
Investigators are also trying to determine whether the former CEO of SBM acted independently or if he received instructions from a higher authority to facilitate the loan approval. This question is at the heart of the FCC's current work, which is attempting to establish whether the decision to grant Rs 470 million followed a normal process or if external pressures or directives intervened.
The minutes, internal communications, professional emails, and testimonies from executives present during the 2024 meetings are being meticulously examined. Significant developments are expected in the coming weeks with the interrogation of other stakeholders within Dhyanavartam Limited.
