Mauritius court releases former PM Jugnauth on bail after his arrest in money laundering case

A Mauritius court has released former Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth on bail after he was arrested on money laundering accusations, according to a magistrate.

Jugnauth was detained on Sunday after detectives from the state-run Financial Crimes Commission raided his house and other sites, seizing 114 million Mauritius rupees ($2.5 million).

“He (Jugnauth) shall not interfere directly or indirectly with any witness or potential witness,” Rishan Chineah, the magistrate at the bail and remand court in the capital, Port Louis, said on Sunday.

The magistrate further prohibited Jugnauth from discussing the case with anybody other than investigating officials and the court itself and ordered him to appear on Monday to finish the bail procedure.

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Jugnauth’s lawyer, Raouf Gulbul, informed reporters that his client denies the claims.

Jugnauth was temporarily charged with money laundering, according to the charge sheet presented to the court by the director of public prosecution.

Mauritius’ new Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam launched an audit of state finances in November, just days after raising concerns about the veracity of some official statistics gathered by the previous administration.

Last month, the country’s former central bank governor was arrested and freed on bail after being accused with conspiracy to commit fraud.

An Indian Ocean archipelago, Mauritius is an offshore financial centre that markets itself as a link between Africa and Asia.

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