The bet365 scandal has taken over the country by storm over the last few weeks with the resignation of an Attorney General, sextortion allegations over a whistleblower, the confusing arrests of three journalists from l’express and a thinly-veiled attempt to intimidate the press.

The bet365 scandal

On Monday 11 September, l’express reveals an alleged money laundering scandal involving Ravi Yerrigadoo, attorney general at the time. Husein Abdool Rahim, the whistleblower, claims that Yerrigadoo helped him retrieve money of up to €20,000 that he had won while betting online on the eponymous bet365. The story was backed by an official letter coming from the office of the attorney general. Rahim also claimed that along with Sylvio Sundanum and Dick Kwan Tat, two close allies of Yerrigadoo, they tried to mount a financial structure to launder money through bet365.

Rahim eventually swore an affidavit a day after the scandal first broke out. He made multiple allegations against Yerrigadoo and even presented a handwritten letter with instructions allegedly belonging to the attorney general. During a radio intervention, Yerrigadoo admitted to having signed the official letter but argued that it was within the scope of his duties. However, he sent a legal notice (mise en demeure) to media outlets claiming that everything else that Rahim had said was false and that the handwritten letter did not come from him. Regardless of that fact, Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth asked Yerrigadoo to step down from his position, which he was forced to do on Wednesday 13 September.

The fall of the whistleblower

Following his allegations against Yerrigadoo, Rahim’s past started to unravel in front of the population. He had pleaded guilty in a previous case of swindling – Rahim attributed this to a simple youthful indiscretion – but l’express had already revealed that when it first broke the story. However, in the days following the resignation of Yerrigadoo, the whistleblower’s former girlfriend lodged a complaint against him for sextortion.

While it was initially believed to be an attempt to discredit a whistleblower, he eventually admitted to his own lawyer, Ashley Hurhangee and to journalists from l’express that there was substance to the sextortion claims.

The following morning, on Thursday 21 September, l’express publishes a story distancing itself from Rahim but asking readers to focus on the documentary evidence available in the bet365 scandal, which are the official letter from Yerrigadoo’s office and the handwritten note.

Rahim switches sides

In the afternoon of Thursday 21 September, Rahim heads to a private radio to tell a completely new story. He argues that the allegations made against Yerrigadoo were not true and that he had been manipulated by l’express and his initial lawyer, Roshi Bhadain, to tell that story. Yerrigadoo even intervenes live on the radio and tearfully accepts Rahim’s apology.

However, in an unexpected turn of events, he maintains the veracity of the documentary evidence against Yerrigadoo, including the official letter, the handwritten note and WhatsApp messages between the two. Regarding the official letter, he claimed that Yerrigadoo tried to help him “as a friend” to retrieve the €20,000 in his bet365 account. 

On top of the swindling case he is currently facing, Rahim also admits live on air to swearing a false affidavit and to the sextortion claims (arguing that he sees it differently and that it’s normal for a young couple). He also claims that he initially got in touch with l’express fearing a police complaint from Sundanum, pertaining to a different case.

After his radio interview, the whistleblower headed directly to the Central Criminal Investigation Department (CCID), followed by Sundanum, Kwan Tat and Yerrigadoo the next day. 

The press persecution

In the days following Rahim’s radio interview and visit to the CCID, l’express stood by the documentary evidence available in the bet365 case and dismissed the accusations made by the whistleblower. However, the case took a more dramatic turn on Monday 25 September.

The police went to the house of Yasin Denmamode, one of the journalists who worked on the bet365 story, at 5am with a search warrant. They tried a similar stunt at the house of Nad Sivaramen, director of publications, while it remains unclear whether they also went to the house of fellow journalist Axcel Chenney, given that no one was present at the house at the time.

Sivaramen blamed the police for the way they proceeded, given that, according to him, it would have been easier to summon them to the CCID. Police officers even came looking for Sivaramen, Chenney and Denmamode in the headquarters of La Sentinelle, which hosts l’express, but left empty-handed.

Sivaramen, Chenney and Denmamode eventually went to the CCID later on the same day, accompanied by their lawyers, Hervé Duval Jr, Yanilla Moonshiram and Robin Ramburn respectively. With Denmamode’s house already searched in the morning, Sivaramen and Chenney accompanied police officers to their respective houses for a search.

After several hours of interrogation, all three journalists were allowed to leave but had to come back the following day. Sivaramen was actually released on parole, given that he was under arrest for refusing to cooperate with the police for what he perceived to be an attempt to intimidate the press.

The three journalists went back to the CCID on Tuesday 26 September and even faced Rahim for a lineup as part of the identification process.  They remained at the CCID for several hours for the purpose of the interrogation before being allowed to leave once again in the afternoon.

Sivaramen remained under arrest but was released once again on parole. His lawyer, Hervé Duval Jr, expressed his surprise that they would have to come back the following day. As for Chenney and Denmamode, they went back home comforted by their lawyers’ belief that they remained free men and were not under arrest.

 However, to the confusion of the lawyers involved in the case, Shiva Coothen, police press officer, argued after the journalists left the CCID that all three of them were actually under arrest and released on parole. It remains unclear as to whether Rahim is also in a similar situation.

Today, Wednesday 27 September, all three journalists were forced to go back to the CCID for a third consecutive day. After a few hours, Sivaramen was allowed to go home but remained unclear on whether he was still under arrest. “Technically, my client is un-arrested but I need to verify in my law books what all of this means,” said Hervé Duval Jr, visibly still confused by the chain of events. The lawyer also claimed that the police wanted to get his client’s devices and sources but Sivaramen refused to give that up. Denmamode and Chenney were also allowed to leave some time after. Both of them claim that at no point were they under arrest.

After the journalists left the CCID, in a statement to the media, Shiva Coothen announced that other people whose name were brought during the investigation shall be called in and questioned. He also refused to answer any question regarding the confusion around the arrest and subsequent release of the three journalists. However, he said that the enquiry shall take a long time and should there be any new elements, Sivaramen, Denmamode and Chenney shall be called back to the CCID.