IN THE SPOT LIGHT: Lychee sector – Ongoing investigation by BIANCO and commitment of legal proceeding of prosecution before the competent court

The Independent Anti-Corruption Bureau (BIANCO) informs that, within the framework of the case relating to the lychee export sector, an initial procedure arising from the preliminary investigation has been transmitted to the Anti-Corruption Unit (Pole Anti-corruption) of Antananarivo, leading to the commitment of legal proceedings of persecution by the competent court.

This case originated from a referral submitted in 2023 by an international civil society organization to the specialized Public Prosecutor’s Office. In November 2025, BIANCO was officially entrusted, through a transmission order from the Anti-Corruption Unit, to open a preliminary investigation focusing in particular on suspicions of corruption, conflict of interest, abuse of dominant position, economic offenses, and money laundering within the sector.

Since being seized of the matter, Directorate of Investigation of BIANCO  has carried out extensive investigative actions, which have made it possible to document a substantial part of the structured financial mechanisms and organizational networks involved. At the conclusion of these investigative steps, an initial case file was forwarded to the Prosecutor’s Office of the Anti-Corruption  Unit  for the purpose of initiating proceedings.

However, the case has a significant cross-border dimension, notably involving financial flows and entities established abroad, which requires the continuation of additional investigations within the framework of international judicial cooperation mechanisms in order to fully establish the economic and corruption-related offenses that may be retained.

For the record, the main suspect in this case was arrested on 24 October 2025 in Mauritius by the Financial Crimes Commission (FCC) and remains currently detained in Mauritian territory as part of a separate procedure.

Following the presentation of the suspects and associated persons before the Prosecutor’s Office of the Anti-Corruption Unit of Antananarivo on 19 February 2026, four of them were placed in pre-trial detention at the Antanimora Central Prison, while two others were placed under judicial supervision.

Given this transnational configuration, further investigations are ongoing within the framework of international judicial cooperation mechanisms in order to establish the full extent of criminal liability and characterize all economic offenses that may be retained.

BIANCO reaffirms its steadfast commitment to combating all forms of corruption and economic offenses affecting strategic national sectors, in strict compliance with the principle of the presumption of innocence and the judicial authority.