The director of Areva Immobilier, arrested following explicit messages sent to a 13-year-old minor, has been released. At the same time, he is under investigation by the FCC for alleged money laundering.
Real estate developer Avin Chetraj Parmanund, director of Areva Immobilier, was released this Monday, April 20 before the Pamplemousses court, where he faces a provisional charge of “child grooming”. He had to pay a bail of Rs 10,000.
He was arrested on Friday April 17 by the Divisional Crime Intelligence Unit of the Northern Division, following a complaint filed by a 13-year-old minor, a friend of his daughter. The suspect, aged 45 and living in Domaine Hillside, Belle-Vue, is currently under police investigation.
The case is based in particular on exchanges of messages deemed “damning” included in the prosecution’s case. According to information communicated to investigators, text messages of a sexually explicit nature were sent to the minor, with insistent propositions and requests for confidentiality.
The alleged facts date back to April 13, when the schoolgirl allegedly met the suspect in a gym, where he was also there as the father of a friend. He would then have obtained his telephone number. Shortly after, the minor allegedly started receiving messages from the businessman's phone.
It was on April 17, accompanied by her father, that the schoolgirl went to the Grand-Baie police station to report the facts, providing screenshots of the exchanges. A statement was taken and several messages were secured by police. The IT Unit is called to analyze the suspect's phone. During his interrogation, Avin Chetraj Parmanund, assisted by his lawyer Me Waakid Allybocus, rejected the accusations brought against him under article 22 of the Children’s Act.
Furthermore, the real estate developer was arrested by the Financial Crimes Commission (FCC) as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering linked to real estate transactions. This case concerns in particular the marketing of a duplex estimated at Rs 4.9 million, to the alleged prejudice of an individual, a former director of the Tourism Authority.
During his hearings before investigators from the Grand-Baie CID, the suspect admitted to having received an amount of Rs 4.9 million as partial payment. However, he disputes any fraudulent intent, saying construction work has been delayed but the project is still underway.
The investigation continues on several aspects, with the authorities examining all real estate transactions linked to the developer.
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