640:(ICAC) accused NPF accountant Rojoa of conspiracy with Lesage. Charged with embezzlement and money laundering, Lesage involved two top managers of the MCB. He was later granted immunity by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC). Attempts were made to challenge the immunity since it had not been granted or confirmed by the Director of Public Prosecution. As the investigation unfolded, ICAC identified the main beneficiary as London-based Mauritian businessman Teeren Appassamy. Money was credited to accounts of ten companies and five persons including Appassamy, the alleged master swindler. They are Dev Manraj, his companies’ director; economist Donald Ha Yeung, his agent; and his brother, Tamby Appasamy. They, as well as MCB top managers, were provisionally charged.
606:
Commercial Bank announced in a press communiqué that it had discovered a large scale fraud which had resulted in the misappropriation of over Rs. 600 m. between 1991 and 2002. The fraud was alleged to have been committed by one of the bank's senior managers, Robert Lesage. He was accused of “fraudulently abstracting funds belonging to the MCB” and “tampering with clients’ accounts. The MCB started proceedings in
Mauritius against Lesage and thirty seven defendants. The most important ones involved were:
652:
non-disclosure, and deceit. They later served proceedings against MUA and MCB. The allegations of misrepresentation made against MUA and MCB were "based upon answers given in a Lloyds bankers policy proposal form signed by officers of MCB to the effect that it was a well run orthodox banking business when in fact it was nothing of the sort." MUA and MCB appealed to the
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and their appeal was dismissed.
358:. The bank was an initiative by a group of traders of the capital, headed by Mr. James Blyth and Mr. William Hollier Griffiths, who wanted to establish an alternative to the Bank of Mauritius, which they felt favoured the planters on the island. The bank started business with an authorised capital of ÂŁ100,000, around 500,000 piastres, in premises situated at rue de Paris, subsequently rue Desforges, now Sir Seewoosagur Street.
709:
431:(40%) and Banque de la Réunion (a subsidiary of Crédit Lyonnais-25%), MCB (35%) established Banque Internationale Des Mascareignes, an offshore unit based in Mauritius. (In 1998 Crédit Lyonnais confirmed the transfer to Caisse d'Épargne Provence-Alpes-Corse (CEPAC) of its remaining shares (25.5%) in Banque internationale des Mascareignes.) The next year, MCB became the majority shareholder of
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him to refund Rs 436 million to the bank. The co-defendant and ultimate beneficiary of the fraud, Teeren
Appasamy, was ordered by the Court to pay the bank a sum of Rs 305 million. Donald Ha Yeung, was exonerated of all blame by the judges. Lesage appealed to the Supreme Court of Mauritius, but his appeal was denied on a technicality. He then appealed directly to the
231:. The Group has also consolidated its presence in RĂ©union, Mayotte and Paris through BFCOI, its associate. The MCB opened a representative office in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2008. Moreover, the Group is actively involved in project and trade financing in various countries of the sub-Saharan region, while being engaged in other markets such as India.
687:. Those companies were simply the instrument/facade to enable Mr. T. Appasamy to obtain huge sums from Mr. Lesage. As can be gleaned from the evidence of Mr. PG Noel, most if not all the monies, which had reached those shell companies, had practically been directed either to the various accounts of Mr. T.Appasamy or for his benefits."
459:. The original shareholders were MCB (70%), Standard Bank Investment Corporation Ltd (10%), BFCOI (10%), FIARO (5%) and Société Manofi (5%). By 2000, MCB's share ownership had risen to 79%. Currently, the bank has three branches. Then in 1992 MCB converted its representative office in Paris to a branch.
673:
On 30 June 2010, in the civil action brought about by MCB against Lesage and others, Judges Paul Lam Shang Leen and
Nirmala Devat of the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court, found that Lesage could not be believed and held him liable for the Rs 880 million fraud at the MCB. The justices ordered
643:
Teeren
Appasamy pointed MCB General Manager, Pierre-Guy Noël, as the banker he had dealings with. The latter was charged of having “willfully and criminally conspired with Robert Lesage and Teeren Appasamy to engage in several transactions involving a sum of Rs 36 million”. This charge was later
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The fraud action was soon followed by a claim by MCB in
Mauritius against Mauritius Union Assurance (MUA) under its insurance policies. MUA in turn claimed against its reinsurers, Dornoch Ltd., and others. On 19 January 2005 the reinsurers rejected MUA's claim because of negligent misstatement,
605:
Early in
February 2003, Amina Rojoa, the accountant responsible for the National Pensions Fund (NPF) deposit accounts, informed Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth, that the NPF deposits at the MCB could not be traced. On 14 February 2003, known afterwards as MCB's "Black Friday," the Mauritius
669:
In
September 2009, ICAC initiated criminal action against the Mauritius Commercial Bank, as a corporate entity represented by Pierre-Guy Noël. MCB was charged to "wilfully, unlawfully and criminally fail to take such measures as are reasonably necessary, to wit : implementation of proper
517:
Since its regional expansion, MCB operated as both a licensed bank and a holding company. In 2013, MCB embarked on a reorganization that sought to separate the banking and non-banking operations and raise capital in order to position itself for future growth. The restructure was as follows:
678:
in London, UK, the highest court of appeal. On Dec. 20, 2012, Lord Kerr and four other Law Lords allowed Lesage's appeal, quashing the decision of the
Supreme Court of Mauritius and ordering a new trial "free from the taint of unfairness and bias" before a differently constituted court.
670:
internal control systems and procedures, to ensure that services offered by it, to wit : in relation to the fixed deposit accounts held on behalf of the
National Pensions Fund, were not capable of being used by a person to facilitate the commission of a money laundering offence.
508:
agreed that they would split the ownership of BFCOI. However, the agreement did not include BFCOI's operations in the Seychelles. MCB therefore incorporated a new fully owned subsidiary, Mauritius Commercial Bank (Seychelles) – MCB Seychelles – to take over BFCOI's operations there.
207:. It is equally the oldest banking institution south of the Sahara and one of the oldest banks of the Commonwealth to have preserved its original name and to be working in the same business area since its incorporation. MCB has a local network of 40 modern branches and 150
644:
struck out on a technicality. MCB's Assistant General Manager, Philippe A. Forget was charged with “failing to report a suspicious transaction” as file manager for two companies of Teeren Appasamy. Philippe Forget, also a major shareholder of the prominent newspaper
214:
The holding structure of the MCB Group translates its two-fold strategy namely diversification into financial services through local subsidiaries and associated companies and regional expansion through its foreign subsidiaries. MCB operates in
365:
granted a Royal Charter to the newly established bank under the name of The Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB). The British government renewed the charter every twenty years until 18 August 1955 when the Bank became a limited liability company.
410:
in 1963. Other branches followed. In 1960, MCB bank moved to the current location of its headquarters at Sir William Newton Street (at the time, Rue de l'Eglise). Mauritius achieved its independence in 1968.
682:
Judges Paul Lam Shang Leen and Nirmala Devat of the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court, also found out that "those shell companies were nothing more than his conduit pipe and transactions effected
1012:
992:
625:
Quartet Development Co Ltd (1986): First shareholders: Alain Richard Voon, Donald Ha Yeung, Prithiniah Geerjanand and Mrs Hurkissoon Rambaruth. Geerjanand Khoosman and Sudarshan Bhadain (
610:
Angel Beach Resorts Ltd (1987): Teeren Appasamy, Dev Manraj and Donald Ha Yeung’s wife shareholders as from 1997. Teeren Appasamy and Marc Daruty de Grandpré directors since August 2001.
803:
637:
629:) became shareholders in 1990. The latter had claimed that without his knowledge shares in Quartet were put in his name while he was a student and to which he never consented.
493:
held in BFCOI, increasing its own stake by 22.22% to 88.88%. This followed the takeover of Banque Indosuez by the Crédit Agricole Group, which itself had operations in both
478:
held in BFCOI, increasing its own stake by 22.22% to 88.88%. This followed the takeover of Banque Indosuez by the Crédit Agricole Group, which itself had operations in both
474:
in partnership with BFCOI and Proparco. By 2000 MCB's shareholding was 76% as it had bought out Proparco's 18.75% stake. The next year, MCB acquired the minority stake
572:
Mauritius Commercial Bank is governed by an eight-person Board of Directors with J. GĂ©rard HARDY serving as the President of the board and Pierre Guy NOEL as the CEO.
987:
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In October 2008, after reviewing evidence gathered by ICAC, the Director of Public Prosecution GĂ©rard Angoh decided not to retain criminal charges against Lesage.
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Mauri Beach Travel and Tours Ltd (1997): Dev Manraj (also director), Donald Ha Yeung and his wife (director) shareholders and Renu Manraj one of the directors.
941:
Moorlah, S. Barbé, A., Lutchmaya, J. "Corruption : Interpellés par l'ICAC, Ramdewar et Sauzier libérés sous caution" in lexpress.mu (May 17, 2003). Cf.
564:
from 1989 to April 5, 2014 when they were replaced by those of MCB Group. Mauritius Commercial Bank is currently a wholly owned subsidiary of MCB Group.
262:
541:
At the end of the reorganization, MCB remained a commercial bank with no subsidiaries while MCB Group's structure operated under three clusters, i.e.:
1027:
394:
became a shareholder. In 1955, MCB became a limited liability company. At this point MCB became the first bank to set up branches in rural locations:
958:
875:"Dornoch Ltd & Ors v Mauritius Union Assurance Company Ltd [2006] APP.L.R. 04/10 in Arbitration, Practice & Procedure Law Reports"
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36:
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MCB Investment Holding Ltd (MCBIH) was then incorporated to act as the intermediary holding company of all the banking investments of the Group.
1017:
814:
537:
The Banking subsidiaries held by MCB were then unbundled to MCBIH while non-banking subsidiaries and investments were unbundled MCB Group.
309:
1022:
983:
Modeliar S. "Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd v Robert Lesage and Others’ The cat is still in the bag!" in Mauritius Times (July 8, 2010)
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Shareholders of MCB exchanged their MCB shares for MCB Group shares on a 1:1 ratio. These shares were then listed on the SEM.
266:
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Mauritius Commercial Bank, founded in 1838, is the oldest commercial company and the largest banking institution of
699:
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Magarian Cie Ltd (1988): Bhardooaz Babeedin and Deochand Nundloll, shareholders. In 1994, Donald Ha Yeung joins in.
255:
756:
208:
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864:
JUDGEMENT MAURITIUS COMMERCIAL BANK LTD v MR ROBERT LESAGE AND ORS 2010 SCJ 222, SCR Nos. 81369 and 84018
648:, was arrested and released on bail. Charges against Forget were eventually changed and then struck out.
921:
JUDGEMENT MAURITIUS COMMERCIAL BANK LTD v MR ROBERT LESAGE AND ORS 2010 SCJ 222 SCR Nos. 81369 and 84018
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954:"A Bank within a Bank: Les libertés de la MCB à l'égard de la BoM !" in Week End (March 20, 2005)
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Sea Rock Paradise Ltd (1989): The Ha Yeung couple buy shares of Masilamani and Veemlah Veerasamy.
419:
MCB began its international expansion in 1991 when it opened representative offices in Paris and
403:
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MCB encountered numerous difficulties in its first hundred years. MCB opened its first branch in
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Handsome Investment Ltd (1991): Shareholders: Donald Ha Yeung & Mrs. Pit Ho Wong Ching Hwai.
428:
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347:
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452:
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The Mauritius Commercial Bank’s history started on September 1, 1838 when Governor Sir
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378:, in the centre of the island, in 1920. It did not open another branch until after
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MCB's entire stock was transferred from MCB Group to MCBIH in exchange for shares.
395:
685:
without the knowledge of those who on paper were either shareholders or directors
973:"MCB/NPF : L'ICAC et une enquĂŞte Ă controverses" in Week End (Oct. 19, 2008
945:
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In March 2005, a report by NTan Advisory Corporate (Singapore) was published in
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964:"Dornoch Ltd & Ors v Mauritius Union Assurance Company Ltd EWCA Civ 389 6]
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978:"MCB/NPF : l'heure de grandes tractations!" in Week End (Sept. 6, 2009)
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Ng Ping Cheun, E. "En quête de vérité" in Business Magazine (March 30, 2005)
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and the nation's banking regulator. The bank's headquarters are located in
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220:
663:, outlined unlawful banking practices at the Mauritius Commercial Bank.
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Modeliar S. "N’Tan Report Revisited" in Mauritius Times (July 20, 2010)
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Court hearings in the case of ICAC v MCB have begun on Sept. 26, 2011.
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Controversy: Mauritius Commercial Bank / National Pensions Fund Scandal
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was incorporated to be the ultimate holding company in the group.
435:(BFCOI), which is registered in France, with the previous owner,
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NSR Subordinated Debt - MTN Program (foreign currency) A3.za
735:"MCB Ltd: Thierry Hebraud in charge since 1 January 2024"
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NSR Senior Debt - MTN Program (foreign currency) Aa3.za
804:"Mauritius Commercial Bank - Statement to Shareholders"
993:"Affaire ICAC vs MCB" in Le Mauricien (Sept. 26, 2011)
451:(1), and a head office in Paris. MCB also established
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Companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius
269:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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935:The Mauritius Commercial Bank Limited, 1838-1963
613:Belle Beach Ltd: Teeren Appasamy, sole director.
439:, retaining an interest. BFCOI had branches in
937:. (Port Louis: The Mauritius Commercial Bank).
906:"UKPC 41 Privy Council Appeal No 027 of 2011"
813:. MCB Group. 15 November 2013. Archived from
8:
884:. Crown Copyright reserved. EWCA Civ 389 6.
28:
34:
27:
16:Oldest (1838) commercial bank in Mauritius
638:Independent Commission Against Corruption
433:Banque Française Commerciale Océan Indien
329:Learn how and when to remove this message
726:
676:Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
352:La Banque Commerciale de l'îsle Maurice
587:Global Local Currency Deposit Baa1/P-2
464:União Comercial De Bancos (Moçambique)
560:The shares of MCB were listed on the
7:
267:adding citations to reliable sources
968:MCB Press release (March 16, 2006)
501:in direct competition with BFCOI.
486:in direct competition with BFCOI.
14:
933:Mauritius Commercial Bank. 1963.
784:. Mauritius Commercial Bank Group
659:. The report commissioned by the
581:Foreign Currency Deposit Baa1/P-2
93:9-15, Sir William Newton Street,
29:The Mauritius Commercial Bank Ltd
1028:1838 establishments in Mauritius
707:
489:MCB acquired the minority stake
350:proclaimed the establishment of
243:
254:needs additional citations for
1:
1018:Companies based in Port Louis
584:Foreign Currency Issuer Baa1
562:Stock Exchange of Mauritius
278:"Mauritius Commercial Bank"
1044:
700:List of banks in Mauritius
590:Bank Financial Strength D+
18:
1023:Banks established in 1838
183:. MCB is licensed by the
173:Mauritius Commercial Bank
165:Mauritius Commercial Bank
33:
491:Crédit Agricole Indosuez
476:Crédit Agricole Indosuez
462:In 1999 MCB established
19:Not to be confused with
778:"MCB Group - Key Facts"
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69:; 186 years ago
840:"MCB Group Structure"
646:L'Express (Mauritius)
548:Non-banking financial
453:Union Commercial Bank
67:1 September 1838
513:Group reorganization
263:improve this article
946:Lexpress.mu. 2004.
757:"List of Licensees"
755:Bank of Mauritius.
140:Number of employees
59:Banking Institution
30:
1008:Banks of Mauritius
948:An intricate saga
661:Bank of Mauritius
551:Other investments
523:MCB Group Limited
504:In 2003, MCB and
415:A regional leader
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114:Thierry Hebraud
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427:. Together with
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820:on 26 June 2015
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437:Banque Indosuez
429:Crédit Lyonnais
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370:The early years
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848:. Retrieved
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822:. Retrieved
815:the original
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786:. Retrieved
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738:. Retrieved
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715:Banks portal
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457:Antananarivo
447:(4) and the
443:Island (9),
421:Antananarivo
418:
389:
380:World War II
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261:Please help
256:verification
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189:central bank
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144:2,950 (2013)
90:Headquarters
43:Company type
25:
846:. MCB Group
788:11 November
392:Lloyds Bank
319:August 2022
175:(MCB) is a
1002:Categories
762:12 January
722:References
568:Governance
472:Mozambique
449:Seychelles
425:Madagascar
356:Port Louis
289:newspapers
229:Seychelles
225:Mozambique
217:Madagascar
193:Port Louis
107:Key people
96:Port Louis
74:1838-09-01
50:Subsidiary
556:Ownership
408:Goodlands
402:in 1958,
398:in 1955,
396:Mahébourg
390:In 1949,
361:In 1839,
205:Mauritius
181:Mauritius
155:MCB Group
100:Mauritius
21:MCB Group
694:See also
376:Curepipe
221:Maldives
199:Overview
129:Products
56:Industry
928:Sources
850:26 June
824:26 June
545:Banking
499:Mayotte
495:RĂ©union
484:Mayotte
480:RĂ©union
445:Mayotte
441:RĂ©union
404:Triolet
303:scholar
235:History
161:Website
133:Banking
82:Founder
72: (
64:Founded
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