Former Mauritius finance minister granted bail in fraud case

FILE PHOTO: European Union- African Union summit in Brussels

FILE PHOTO: Renganaden Padayachy, when Mauritius' Minister of Finance, arrives for the first day of a European Union- African Union summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Belgium, February 17, 2022. John Thys/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Source: POOL

A court in Mauritius has granted bail to a former finance minister charged with fraud over alleged embezzlement at a state-owned company, his lawyer and the financial crimes commission said on Monday.

Renganaden Padayachy and former central bank governor Harvesh Seegolam were arrested and charged last week over the reported embezzlement of 300 million Mauritius rupees ($6.7 million) from the Mauritius Investment Corporation, set up to help companies deal with impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Padayachy and Seegolam have both denied wrongdoing. Seegolam was freed on bail last week.

On Monday the court granted Padayachy bail after the financial crimes commission said it did not oppose his release, a commission spokesperson said.

Raouf Gulbul, Padayachy's lawyer, welcomed the court's decision.

"He (Padayachy) will be ... present for any further interrogation," he told reporters.

The government of Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam, who won power in a November election, has accused the previous administration under which the two former officials served of falsifying data on economic growth, the budget deficit and public debt for years.

This article was produced by Reuters news agency. It has not been edited by Global South World.

By Reuters