“It never rains but pours” – The proverbial phrase attributed to Scottish satirist John Arbuthnot has never been so meaningful. At a time when the integrity of Mauritius as an international financial centre is shattered to pieces, decision makers at the helm of the country and institutions seem adamant on giving solidity to the allure of a rogue state.
The reckless management of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) which led to the resignation of various board members back in 2017 has gained momentum to the extent, specialists are convinced it’s become a runaway train dragging the country along, towards a definite crash. The regulatory body which sought to harbour the likes of Alvaro has now ventured into whitewashing of convicts of the serious financial crimes. One of them being, the most notorious of all, having even secured a place in the hallmark of US Justice. On 1st march 2018, Arvinsingh Canaye was arrested and produced the following day before the federal courthouse in Brooklyn where charges of securities fraud, money laundering and conspiracy were pressed.
Documents released by the US department of Justice underline the indictment made by United States attorney Richard Donoghue who accused Panayiotis Kyriacou, Arvinsingh Canaye, Adrian Baron, Linda Bullock, Matthew Green, and Aristos Aristodemou of having engaged in an elaborate multi-year scheme to defraud the investing public of millions of dollars through deceit and manipulative stock trading, and then worked to launder the fraudulent proceeds through off-shore bank accounts and the art world, including the proposed purchase of a Picasso painting. The companies involved were Beaufort Securities Ltd, a brokerage firm located in London, United Kingdom; Beaufort Management Services Ltd , an off-shore management company located in Mauritius; Loyal Bank Ltd, an off-shore bank with offices in Budapest, Hungary and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; and Loyal Agency and Trust Corp, an off-shore management company located in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Arvinsigh Canaye who initially pleaded not guilty backtracked as evidence poured in by an undercover agent who had posed as a US citizen willing to open brokerage accounts at Beaufort Securities from which he could execute trades in several multi-million dollar stock manipulation deals. In January 2018, Canaye and Beaufort Management opened six global business corporations for the undercover agent.
The Court had sentenced. Adrian Baron, the former Chief Business Officer of Loyal Bank, to time served, effectively eleven months in prison, for conspiring to defraud the United States by failing to comply with FATCA. The Court determined Canaye’s advisory guidelines range to be 57 to 71 months’ imprisonment. However, the Attorney General called for a proportionate sentence based on the fact Arvinsingh Canaye had ultimately pleaded guilty. Arvinsingh Canaye, the former General Manager of Beaufort Management, was sentenced to time served, or effectively thirteen months in prison, for conspiring to commit money laundering,
While the inquiries and trials have ended in the US, both the FSC and Independent Commission Against Corruption ( ICAC) are still raking the muck in search of evidence which would enable them to prosecute cadres of the Beaufort Management Company. Strangely the man who pleaded guilty for running the scam is back in business, serving flagship offshore management companies based in Ebene. Reliable sources affirm Arvinsigh Canaye enjoys the blessings from the highest quarters and is too big to be worried by ingoing investigations. On his LinkedIn profile, Arvinsingh Canaye describes himself as “ A dynamic and self-motivated person who thrives for excellency with integrity, honesty and loyalty. Humbleness forms the hallmark of my personality “. Browsing further we observe he boasts having served Beaufort Management Services ltd as general manager from August 2016 to April 2019, following which he is turned into Business Development Executive ( May 2019 – till present). If management companies retaining his services are not aware of their employee’s credentials, then we ought to worry about the KYCs’ they undertake. Doing it knowingly or even worse, upon the recommendation of some tsar at the FSC would be beyond human imagination. Then again, this is paradise island.
