The Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) has decided to temporarily entrust a “banker with international experience” with the responsibilities of general manager. This initiative has been taken after the n°1 of the institution, Pierre-Guy Noel, was formally charged with “conspiracy to commit the offence of money laundering.” The interim general manager will occupy this post until Pierre-Guy Noel’s innocence is proved, innocence that the Board of Directors is convinced of.

The MCB general manager is the first, with solicitor Ravi Ramdewar who is accused of money laundering, to be taken to Court over this affair where some Rs 881.6 millions were embezzled from the National Pensions Fund at the MCB. The bank management is very offended and cannot understand why Teeren Appasamy, who is supposed to be the main beneficiary of the fraud, has not been bothered so far.

The Board of Directors proposed the job to Philippe A. Forget, the assistant general manager, in the first place but he declined the offer. However, he gave the assurance that he would give his full support to the new general manager. Philippe A. Forget is a member of the management committee set up to look after the day-to-day running of the bank after Pierre-Guy Noël asked for leave in June 2003 when he was provisionally charged.

The bank management has a reiterated its hope that “law will be strictly applied against all the beneficiaries or facilitators of the fraud”. The name of Teeren Appassamy, the London-based Mauritian businessman, is mentioned in the affidavit against Pierre-Guy Noël in June 2003, stating that the MCB n°1 “did willfully and criminally conspire with Robert Lesage and Teeren Appasamy to engage in several transactions involving a sum of Rs 36 million, which in whole or partly, directly or indirectly, represents the proceeds of a crime.” However, he has not yet been questioned.

<B>Unrevealed transfers</B>

The businessman could experience a reversal soon. Edwin Marion, manager of the MCB, swore an affidavit last Friday stating that Teeren Appasamy could have “forgotten” to declare some of his assets in Court in August 2003. While examining his accounts at State Bank of Mauritius, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and Barclays Bank in Mauritius and abroad, the MBC says it has discovered that transfers adding up to Rs 140 million have been made between two of his accounts.

The businessman is also suspected by the MCB of having set up new firms and nominated his daughters as directors to by-pass his obligations. The bank seems to do be trying its best to challenge Teeren Appasamy and prove that he is the guilty party.