As astonishing as it may appear, the person suspected of being the main beneficiary in the financial scandal of the Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) to the detriment of the National Pensions Fund (NPF) is taking the MCB to Court. Teeren Appasamy is asking for a cancellation of the MCB claim as well as damages from the bank.

The embezzlement represents some Rs 881 million that was diverted from the NPF accounts at the MCB. Hence, the bank is now claiming Rs one billion compensation to people and entities – among which around Rs 170 million have been claimed from Teeren Appasamy. Since his name was mentioned, he has remained in London despite several attempts by the Icac to force him to come back for questioning about his transactions with the MCB.

According to the London businessman, the MCB has pointed a finger at him only because it was looking for a scapegoat. He believes the bank is the only guilty party as it has shown “corporate negligence” and has been “running a bank within a bank”.

In his statement, he makes it clear that he had no idea where the money that was credited to his accounts came from. He also asserts that he never plotted with the former chief manager, Robert Lesage, to take money from the NPF accounts to credit his own account.

Moreover, the London businessman is adamant that Pierre-Guy Noël could not be unaware of what was happening in his own bank. Even if he admits the latter was his file manager at the bank, he asserts he did not know anything about the fraudulent transactions that were being carried out at the bank.

Teeren Appasamy insists that he has been a client of the MCB since 1988 and that he had always dealt with the top management for his personal transactions or those of his companies. He even says he encouraged the bank to start activities in Mozambique or in Great Britain but the accusations made by the MCB have forced him to change his attitudes. Likewise, his companies have started to undergo major losses since this scandal, as it has tarnished his reputation. This is why he is suing the MCB for damages.