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Corruption in Mauritius
Corruption in Mauritius follows the familiar patterns of state-based corruption, namely government officials abusing their political powers for private gain in the country of Mauritius.
Some Mauritians have taken advantage of the government's corruption. In the local dialect, those who adopt such means are called traceurs or magouilleurs. Familiar methods include falsifying home addresses to get a child into a perceived "star school" or bribing officials to obtain a driver's license.
On 28 May 1979, Member of Parliament Harish Boodhoo called for a general mobilization against corruption in a mass meeting that drew 35,000 people. Cables leaked from the US embassy in 2008 described corruption in Mauritius as "pervasive and ingrained". In May 2020, the European Commission identified Mauritius as a high-risk country, with strategic deficiencies in its anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing regime. According to a former US ambassador to Mauritius, the Mauritian-based Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has lost its credibility.
According to Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, Mauritius scored 48 on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"). When ranked by score, Mauritius ranked 61st among the 182 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison with regional scores, the best score among sub-Saharan African countries was 68, the average was 32 and the worst was 9. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 89 (ranked 1), the average was 42, and the worst was 8 (ranked 181, in a two-way tie).
Nepotism is common in Mauritian politics, with many relatives and friends of high-ranking politicians being appointed to high-ranking positions and associated companies being granted government contracts.
Since the first democratic elections in 1948, the field of politics in Mauritius has been marked by a handful of families who have controlled the four major political parties which exist to this day. They are often referred to as the "modern dynasties" of Mauritian politics such as the Duval, Gunowa (Gungah), Bérenger, Curé, Uteem, Mohamed, Boolell, Ramgoolam and Jugnauth families. The Boolell family's involvement in politics started with Satcam Boolell in 1955, paving the way for his son Arvin Boolell, nephews Satish Boolell, Anil Gayan, and Sanjay Bhuckory, and son-in-law Sushil Kushiram to enter politics. The Duval dynasty started with ex-Lord mayor and minister Gaetan Duval, followed by his son Xavier, adopted son Richard as well as grandson Adrien. Lall Jugnauth was the first of his clan to enter politics in the 1950s and was followed by his cousins Aneerood and Ashock as well as his nephew Pravind. Abdool Razack Mohamed, who migrated from India in the 1930s, became Lord Mayor and minister; his son Yousuf and grandson Shakeel were also elected and served as ministers. Roshi Bhadain, who was a minister of the MSM government, is the nephew of former Labour Party minister Vasant Bunwaree. Roshi Bhadain and Akilesh Deerpalsing (Bhadain's advisor and campaign manager, who is also the son of former minister Kishore Deerpalsing), were investigated by ICAC in 2019 for suspicious recruitment practices when he was a minister.
In March 2020 Harry Ganoo, the retired brother of Minister Alan Ganoo, was nominated as the new president du Civil Service College Mauritius a few months after the November 2019 General Elections.
Until mid-2020, construction company PAD & Co. Ltd was awarded a string of major contracts such as constructing the new airport control tower, a new weather radar at Trou aux Cerfs, renovating the Bank of Mauritius, rehabilitating the coastline of Cap Malheurueux, renovating the Port Louis waterfront, upgrading roads, constructing the Harbour Cruise Terminal in Port Louis for the Mauritius Port Authority, and upgrading the navigation channels at Port Mathurin, Pointe La Gueule, and Baie aux Huîtres in Rodrigues, among other projects. PAD & Co. Ltd's owner, Alain Hao Thyn Voon, is the son of Philippe Hao Thyn Voon, president of the Olympic Committee, with close ties to the MSM. Following the St Louis gate scandal and the discovery of fake bank guarantees, PAD & Co. Ltd went under voluntary administration.
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Corruption in Mauritius
Corruption in Mauritius follows the familiar patterns of state-based corruption, namely government officials abusing their political powers for private gain in the country of Mauritius.
Some Mauritians have taken advantage of the government's corruption. In the local dialect, those who adopt such means are called traceurs or magouilleurs. Familiar methods include falsifying home addresses to get a child into a perceived "star school" or bribing officials to obtain a driver's license.
On 28 May 1979, Member of Parliament Harish Boodhoo called for a general mobilization against corruption in a mass meeting that drew 35,000 people. Cables leaked from the US embassy in 2008 described corruption in Mauritius as "pervasive and ingrained". In May 2020, the European Commission identified Mauritius as a high-risk country, with strategic deficiencies in its anti-money-laundering and counter-terrorism-financing regime. According to a former US ambassador to Mauritius, the Mauritian-based Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has lost its credibility.
According to Transparency International's 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, Mauritius scored 48 on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"). When ranked by score, Mauritius ranked 61st among the 182 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison with regional scores, the best score among sub-Saharan African countries was 68, the average was 32 and the worst was 9. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 89 (ranked 1), the average was 42, and the worst was 8 (ranked 181, in a two-way tie).
Nepotism is common in Mauritian politics, with many relatives and friends of high-ranking politicians being appointed to high-ranking positions and associated companies being granted government contracts.
Since the first democratic elections in 1948, the field of politics in Mauritius has been marked by a handful of families who have controlled the four major political parties which exist to this day. They are often referred to as the "modern dynasties" of Mauritian politics such as the Duval, Gunowa (Gungah), Bérenger, Curé, Uteem, Mohamed, Boolell, Ramgoolam and Jugnauth families. The Boolell family's involvement in politics started with Satcam Boolell in 1955, paving the way for his son Arvin Boolell, nephews Satish Boolell, Anil Gayan, and Sanjay Bhuckory, and son-in-law Sushil Kushiram to enter politics. The Duval dynasty started with ex-Lord mayor and minister Gaetan Duval, followed by his son Xavier, adopted son Richard as well as grandson Adrien. Lall Jugnauth was the first of his clan to enter politics in the 1950s and was followed by his cousins Aneerood and Ashock as well as his nephew Pravind. Abdool Razack Mohamed, who migrated from India in the 1930s, became Lord Mayor and minister; his son Yousuf and grandson Shakeel were also elected and served as ministers. Roshi Bhadain, who was a minister of the MSM government, is the nephew of former Labour Party minister Vasant Bunwaree. Roshi Bhadain and Akilesh Deerpalsing (Bhadain's advisor and campaign manager, who is also the son of former minister Kishore Deerpalsing), were investigated by ICAC in 2019 for suspicious recruitment practices when he was a minister.
In March 2020 Harry Ganoo, the retired brother of Minister Alan Ganoo, was nominated as the new president du Civil Service College Mauritius a few months after the November 2019 General Elections.
Until mid-2020, construction company PAD & Co. Ltd was awarded a string of major contracts such as constructing the new airport control tower, a new weather radar at Trou aux Cerfs, renovating the Bank of Mauritius, rehabilitating the coastline of Cap Malheurueux, renovating the Port Louis waterfront, upgrading roads, constructing the Harbour Cruise Terminal in Port Louis for the Mauritius Port Authority, and upgrading the navigation channels at Port Mathurin, Pointe La Gueule, and Baie aux Huîtres in Rodrigues, among other projects. PAD & Co. Ltd's owner, Alain Hao Thyn Voon, is the son of Philippe Hao Thyn Voon, president of the Olympic Committee, with close ties to the MSM. Following the St Louis gate scandal and the discovery of fake bank guarantees, PAD & Co. Ltd went under voluntary administration.