Watch: Chagos mastermind appears in court after arrest in money-laundering probe

Telegraph

16-02-2025

Pravind Jugnauth, the former prime minister of Mauritius and architect of the controversial Chagos deal, has appeared in court after being arrested as part of a money laundering investigation.
A video on Sunday showed Mr Jugnauth being guided through a car park and into a courthouse by what appeared to be plain-clothes police officers. One looked to be carrying a black bin bag containing the 63-year-old's belongings.
It comes after the former prime minister was questioned by investigators overnight, and after stacks of cash were seized in raids on fellow suspects' homes.
An earlier clip shared online showed Mr Jugnauth arriving at a police station, along with his wife.
The former prime minister's arrest is the latest blow to Sir Keir Starmer's planned Chagos Islands handover agreement he signed with Mr Jugnauth in October.
The deal, which would hand the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius while maintaining a lease on Diego Garcia, is projected to cost taxpayers between £9 billion and £18 billion over the coming decades.
Mr Jugnauth and his family were summoned to the offices of the Mauritius Financial Crimes Commission (FCC) on Saturday following a three-hour search of his residence.
His interrogation extended into the early hours of Sunday, concluding at around 2am. His wife, Kobita, who was also detained, was later released.
The former prime minister was transferred to Moka detention centre before being escorted to the bail and remand court on Sunday morning.
Authorities had earlier raided the home of a close associate of Mr Jugnauth, where they reportedly discovered suitcases filled with tens of thousands in cash, spanning more than a dozen currencies, along with luxury items including Rolex and Cartier watches, and UK visas.
Police have arrested Mr Jugnauth's associate Josian Laval Deelawon and his chief financial officer Chandradeo Nitish Oomah.
They have been remanded into police custody until Monday.
The FCC has objected to Mr Jugnauth's release on bail. However, his lawyer Raouf Gulbul, filed a motion for conditional release. The motion will be debated on Sunday afternoon.
Mr Gulbul dismissed the allegations against his client, insisting no incriminating evidence was found at his client's residence.
'My client has categorically rejected the allegations against him,' Gulbul told The Telegraph. 'The FCC officers, armed with a warrant, searched his home for over three hours. They seized mobile phones belonging to him and his wife, a tablet, and a digital video recorder from his CCTV system for analysis. However, they found no money or illicit items.'
The probe centres around the seizure of 120 million Mauritian rupees (£2 million) from two individuals, one of whom allegedly claimed that Mr Jugnauth had asked him in January to hold money on his behalf.
The second individual, a woman named Devianee Ramchurn, deputy mayor of the municipality of Vacoas, was accused of delivering suitcases of cash to the man's home. She is also under arrest.
Mr Jugnauth has strongly denied any involvement. 'Yes, I know him, but I have never asked him to keep the money for me,' Mr Gulbul quoted the former prime minister as telling the investigators.
The woman in question also refuted the allegations, insisting she had never transported money for Mr Jugnauth, he said.
'This entire case is built on a single allegation,' Mr Gulbul said. 'There is no corroborating evidence, no admission from the woman, and no proof that she delivered any money. Yet, my client has been arrested. We are confident that, given the weakness of the case, he will be granted bail.'
The hearing on his bail application is set to take place later on Sunday.
Mr Jugnauth, whose father also served as prime minister and president of Mauritius, lost an election in November, a month after the Chagos deal was struck. His successor, Navin Ramgoolam, has criticised the agreement.
Sir Keir took calls with Mr Jugnauth in the first months of his government as they negotiated the handover. He and David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, also met him at the Foreign Office a few weeks after the general election.
In 2022, Mr Jugnauth attended the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London, and was photographed greeting the King.
No charges have been brought against Mr Jugnauth, whose supporters gathered outside the FCC headquarters to protest against his interrogation.
On Saturday, the Mauritian FCC also issued an alert freezing the passports of Mr Jugnauth, his wife, brother-in-law and the associate.
It is the latest blow to Britain's planned Chagos Islands handover.
Diego Garcia has been the site of a large UK-US military base since the 1970s. Senior figures in Donald Trump's administration including Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, have criticised the deal for ceding a strategically important possession to a country that is close to China.
Asked about the arrest, Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, dismissed claims that the Chagos Islands deal would have to be put on pause as a result.
He told Camilla Tominey on GB News: 'Negotiation with the Chagos Islands is about securing the long term future of an incredibly important UK-US military base.
'That's what the deal is seeking to achieve. It's why the previous government began negotiations around it, and what matters to me is making sure, for our national security, that long-term position is upheld.'
Mr Reynolds added: 'There's been a lot of commentary on what that deal is. When it's finished, it will be published in the usual way. But let's not lose sight of what we're trying to do here. We're trying to secure the long term future of an essential facility.'
The Cabinet minister also appeared to dispute that the deal would cost £18 billion, a widely reported figure which the Prime Minister has failed to deny twice in the Commons.
Sir Keir has also defended the deal as providing 'legal certainty' for the future of the base after a UN court ruled in 2019 that the UK had no right to occupy the islands.