The Commission of Inquiry on the Alvaro Sobrinho affair, which is causing more havoc to the reputation of Mauritius as a “clean” financial jurisdiction, is a carefully conceived counter-attack by government to divert attention from the real issues regarding the affair.
( Where are the great defenders of our financial centre who used to rush to its rescue and brand the critics as unpatriotic because the latter dared to contend that our financial centre lacks substance and was merely capitalising on the labour cost and tax arbitrage activities - not to say that it was a tax haven ?)
The Alvaro Sobrinho Saga:
The Directors: Alvaro Sobrinho (AS) himself, the PM ,the DPM and the ex-President. They set the stage for the whole saga to unfold by ensuring that the Banking Act was amended to allow the FSC to issue an investment banking licence to AS.
The Heroes : The Four ex-directors of the board of the FSC who refused to bend so easily to the mighty and Mr Basnat Roi , the ex-Governor of the BOM and staff who dared to look at AS straight in the eyes while carrying out a proper due diligence that was handed over to the State House.
The Villains: The then Chairman (The Financial Secretary) , the newly constituted board of the FSC including the present Governor and former DG of the BOM who was rushed to a rapidly-convened Saturday Board meeting of the FSC to constitute a quorum which had a clear mandate to open the floodgates for AS's ill-gotten billions ; the BOI which granted him authorisation to invest in real estate; the DPM who seems to have lost his clairvoyance since ; the President who had to ignominiously vacate the premises on tiptoes and other minions.
LePep says “NO” to such a gimmick of a commission of inquiry and demands that all operating licences an d authorisations given to Alvaro Sobrinho be revoked immediately.
We will thus restore some of the repute of our “clean” financial centre.
