Mauritius attorney general steps down amid money laundering probe
PORT LOUIS, (Reuters) - The attorney general of the island nation of Mauritius stepped down yesterday after allegations he had helped launder gambling money.
Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth told reporters he wanted an investigation into Ravi Yerrigadoo to be conducted transparently.
The Indian Ocean island markets itself as a link between Africa and Asia and is striving to move from an economy mostly based on sugar, textiles and tourism towards offshore banking, business outsourcing, luxury real estate and medical tourism. A scandal could hurt its burgeoning financial services industry.
“If Ravi Yerrigadoo is cleared he will be able to resume office,” Jugnauth said.
Mauritius-based L’Express newspaper reported yesterday that an affidavit had been filed before the Supreme Court accusing Yerrigadoo of trying to facilitate the transfer of gambling money through a financial structure. It was not clear who had filed the affidavit.
In a statement, Yerrigadoo denied the allegations and said he had quit to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest while the investigation was in progress. In March 2016, the environment minister was also forced to resign over corruption allegations. WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - Pete Domenici, a former minor league baseball pitcher who became a major league power player in the U.S. Senate on energy and budget issues and New Mexico’s longest-serving senator, died on Wednesday in Albuquerque at age 85.
Domenici, a Republican, served as chairman of the Budget Committee and Energy and Natural Resources Committee during his 36 years in the Senate before deciding not to seek re-election in 2008 due to a degenerative brain disease.
Brandi Sanchez, a spokeswoman for his son’s law firm in Albuquerque, confirmed the death of the former senator.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote on Twitter that the Senate was saddened to learn of “the passing of our friend Senator Pete Domenici.”
Domenici, the son of Italian immigrants, was a key player in a 1997 balanced budget measure negotiated with Democratic President Bill Clinton and was a prominent supporter of nuclear energy.