the loans granted by the State Bank of Mauritius and the Mauritius Investment Corporation Ltd. to Dhyanavart…
(No. B/1178) Mr R. Jhummun (Second Member for Rivière des Anguilles & Souillac) asked the Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs and External Communications, Minister of Finance, Minister for Rodrigues and Outer Islands whether, in regard to the loans granted by the State Bank of Mauritius and the Mauritius Investment Corporation Ltd. to Dhyanavartam Ltd., between 2022 and 2024, he will, for the benefit of the House, obtain from the Financial Crimes Commission, information as to where matters stand concerning the inquiry initiated thereinto, indicating the – (a) number of persons interrogated and/or arrested as at to date, and (b) actions taken, if any, to recover these loans, given that the said company has already initiated winding-up procedures. 23
Madam Speaker, with your permission, I shall reply to Parliamentary Questions B/1178 and B/1181 together, as they relate to the same subject matter. I am informed by the Financial Crimes Commission that a preliminary investigation was initiated on 10 February 2025 into loans granted by the State Bank (Mauritius) to Dhyanavartam Ltd which is the operator of the Maradiva Hotels and Resorts Spa. At the very outset, I am informed that the State Bank of Mauritius granted a loan of Rs1.4 billion to Dhyanavartam Ltd and a further loan of Rs1.65 billion was again given to them by the Mauritius Investment Corporation Ltd. Hence, as at 30 September 2025, the loans extended by the two entities to Dhyanavartam Ltd amount to approximately Rs3.1 billion. The collateral held against the loans is both in terms of fixed charges and floating charges. I am further informed that the Financial Crimes Commission is currently investigating into the matter. So far, 48 statements have been taken from 27 witnesses and 13 interrogations have been conducted with 7 suspects. On 18 June 2025, the Financial Crimes Commission proceeded with the arrest of Mr Premchand Mungur, former Chief Executive Officer of State Bank (Mauritius) Ltd and provisionally charged him for an offence of fraud by abuse of position in breach of section 43 of the Financial Crimes Commission Act. On 03 December 2025, Mr Mungur was arrested again and provisionally charged for an offence of conspiracy in breach of section 48 of the Financial Crimes Commission Act, respectively. On the same day, the Financial Crimes Commission also proceeded with the arrest of Sanjiv Kailash Ramdanee for an offence of conspiracy in breach of Section 48 of the Financial Crimes Commission Act. I am further informed, Madam Speaker, that no recovery action has been initiated since the loan facilities are inscribed against the asset of the company. The State Bank has a first ranked charge over the asset. As the House is aware, there is ongoing inquiry on this matter, therefore, I cannot give other information.
Yes, Mr Jhummun.
Thank you, Madam. Can the hon. Prime Minister inform the House whether, the former Chairman of the SBM Holdings, Mr Sattar Hajee Abdoula, has been interrogated as he has been dealing with such toxic loans?
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I am not aware of who is being interrogated but the inquiry is ongoing.
Okay. Yes, Mr Beejan, because both questions were taken together.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Can the hon. Prime Minister inform the House what was the purpose for which the loans were contracted?
I am not sure. It so happens that they were huge loans. What was the purpose? I cannot say at this point.
Another one, yes.
Thank you, Madam Speaker. Can the hon. Prime Minister inform the House what guarantee was submitted so that the loan be disbursed?
I did not go into the nitty-gritty because there is an inquiry going on, and I don’t want to prejudice the inquiry.
Thank you. We will find out in due course. Yes, now we have hon. Second Member for Vieux Grand Port and Rose Belle. MAURITIAN RUPEE – STABILISATION – FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATE