He presented himself as an advisor to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and promised access to housing seized by the National Housing Development Company (NHDC) put up for sale. Mahneu Valaven, a resident of Grand-Baie, was arrested this Monday, May 25 by the Divisional Crime Intelligence Unit of the Northern Division (DCIU) after having taken Rs 382,600 from a family.
The affair begins at the end of December 2025. A 54-year-old sales representative, residing in the North, is seduced by an attractive proposition: to acquire social housing located in Mont-Choisy, Pointe-aux-Canonniers, presented as seized by the authorities and put back on the market. The matchmaker is none other than Mahneu Valaven, who then prides himself on occupying a position as an advisor to the PMO.
On December 29, 2025, the client, accompanied by her son and daughter, visited the premises with the suspect. Convinced by what they see and by the apparent guarantees of their interlocutor, the family makes a financial commitment, paying out various sums over the weeks. “I made various payments to him representing reservation fees, payments for the district council, other administrative costs, the Land Surveyor, notary fees as well as the lease contract, for a total amount of Rs 412,600,” explains the complainant.
The handover of the keys was announced for mid-March 2026. But the deadline passed without tangible news. Faced with Mahneu Valaven's repeated procrastination, the family begins to smell a scam. Their suspicions are quickly confirmed: the suspect is in no way connected to the PMO. They then demand full reimbursement of their investment.
Rs 30,000… and disappears into thin air. “He told us he was going to give us all of our money back, but he didn’t honor his commitments. I strongly suspect that he defrauded us,” denounced the victim, who filed a complaint at the Grand-Baie police station.
This Monday, DCIU investigators arrested the suspect at his home on Avenue Dispensaire, in Grand-Baie.
Confronted with the complainant, Mahneu Valaven was formally identified. During his hearing by the Criminal Investigation Division of Grand-Baie, led by Inspector Mootoo, he confessed.
He should be charged in court this Tuesday, May 26, 2026.
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