Central Bank 's second Deputy Governor forced to resign

The second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Mauritius (BoM), Gérard Sanspeur, has resigned with immediate effect at the request of the Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam. According to News Moris, the resignation comes amid a slew of accusations levelled against him by BoM Governor Rama Sithanen, including breach of trust, gross misconduct, insubordination, discrimination and harassment. Sanspeur’s departure was announced by Sithanen at a press conference on Friday, where the Governor detailed the reasons behind the sudden exit. Sithanen said the matter began with an email from Sanspeur to a senior officer, which was deemed ‘harassment’ and led to an internal investigation. Three independent lawyers were appointed to lead the inquiry, which resulted in more than a dozen charges against Sanspeur. The Governor further accused Sanspeur of lying about a WhatsApp message he allegedly sent to the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, in which he is said to have recommended ‘money printing’. According to Sithanen, it was this lie that prompted Ramgoolam to ask for Sanspeur’s resignation. Sithanen stressed that ‘money printing’ would cause a devaluation of the Mauritian rupee and an increase in inflation. In a separate press conference held after his resignation, Sanspeur claimed he was the victim of external pressure and ‘tampering’ of documents at the BoM. Sanspeur claimed to have a document to support his allegations but declined to share it with the press, stating he had contacted a legal representative. The former Deputy Governor also alleged that the ‘tampering of board minute’ had occurred over several years to endorse decisions made by the previous regime. He confirmed he would be filing a formal police report regarding the matter.

Full report in News Moris