Provisional money laundering charge against Sattar Hajee Abdoula dismissed

The charge, filed under the Financial Intelligence and Anti Money Laundering Act, stemmed from a payment of Rs 3.6 million made by Air Mauritius to Grant Thornton Ltd for advisory services in March 2020, one month before Abdoula was appointed as an administrator for Air Mauritius. The total contract was for Rs 8.5 million, but it was not approved by the Air Mauritius board or submitted to its legal department, and the services were never provided. The Financial Crimes Commission arrested Abdoula in November 2025, lodging a provisional money laundering charge.

However, Magistrate Daureeawoo ruled there was no reasonable suspicion of Abdoula's involvement in money laundering. The Rs 3.6 million was deposited into Grant Thornton Advisory Services Ltd's account, a separate legal entity, not Abdoula's personal account. The court also noted that Mariam Rajabally, another director of Grant Thornton Advisory Services Ltd, had signed the contract and payment instructions.

The magistrate stated that the lack of board approval for the contract was an internal Air Mauritius procedure, and there was no concrete evidence that Abdoula was responsible for circumventing these procedures. The dismissal does not prevent the Financial Crimes Commission from continuing its investigation.