Harel Mallac has found itself involved in a case of customs fraud in connection with the importing of new passports. According to the company’s chief executive officer, François Montocchio, they were “surprised to hear about such allegations. We have taken all necessary steps to shed light on this case”. Apart from the internal enquiry by Harel Mallac, the police and the government have also started an investigation.

The case was mentioned by the prime minister, Navin Ramgoolam, in Parliament. He declared last Tuesday that there had been a “massive underestimate” of the cost of 160,000 passports and other equipment by Harel Mallac. The amount of the fraud could be around Rs 12 million for the cargo received last July. In fact, Harel Mallac had ordered 250,000 passports from its partner Global Technologies in America, in 2004. Only the first part of the consignment has been received.

As far as the government is concerned, the enquiry is on. They are checking whether there has been a change in customs duties regarding printed materials. If such changes have occurred, this could explain the Rs 12 million deficit. The United States embassy has expressed its willingness to cooperate with the authorities concerned if a request is made. Its comment on the case is: “American firms are known to have good governance and, for the moment, we have no reason to believe that it is not the case in this affair.”