Mamy Ravatomanga is facing intensifying financial crime investigations as authorities in Mauritius and Madagascar widen probes into alleged offshore transactions linked to the Huilerie Industrielle de Tamatave (HITA) oil refinery scandal.
Maminiaina Ravatomanga, often known as Mamy Ravatomanga (born in November 11, 1968, in Morondava), is a Malagasy businessman, owner of the Sodiat group, and close adviser to President Andry Rajoelina. He is quoted by Forbes, in 2017, as the second richest man in Madagascar, behind Ylias Akbaraly.
Targeted during the 2025 social unrest for his grip on the Malagasy economy and his close ties to the ruling regime, he fled the country for Mauritius on 12 October 2025, when several military units mutinied and joined the protesters and shortly before Rajoelina himself left the country. He was arrested on 24 October for embezzlement and money laundering by Mauritian authorities.
Investigators in Mauritius are tracing new money trails connected to Ravatomanga’s business empire as part of a broader forensic audit examining alleged cross-border financial flows tied to the refinery, which has become one of Madagascar’s most politically sensitive corruption cases.
According to investigative findings reported this week, the Mauritius Financial Crimes Commission (FCC) is now focusing on a network of offshore entities allegedly linked to Ravatomanga’s SODIAT Group. Authorities suspect several Mauritius-registered companies may have acted as intermediaries in transactions involving HITA, Madagascar’s only industrial edible oil refinery.
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The investigation has expanded significantly following the creation of a Joint Investigation Team involving Mauritian authorities, Madagascar’s anti-corruption court and French prosecutors. The partnership was formalized at Eurojust headquarters in The Hague in April.
Analysts say the growing international cooperation signals that the case is evolving beyond a domestic corruption inquiry into a broader cross-border financial crime investigation involving offshore corporate structures, commodity trading and political influence.
Mamy Ravatomanga Linked to HITA Ownership Questions
Investigators allege that Mamy Ravatomanga secretly controlled a significant stake in HITA despite his name reportedly not appearing within the refinery’s official ownership structure.
Authorities believe Ravatomanga may have acquired shares from a departing investor in 2024 through undisclosed arrangements valued at approximately $30 million.
At the center of the inquiry is a Mauritius-based entity identified as Higglo International Trading Ltd, which investigators suspect served as a commercial intermediary within the refinery’s procurement operations.
According to investigators, raw materials may have been purchased through intermediary structures and resold to HITA at inflated prices, generating excess profits allegedly routed offshore through connected financial channels.
Authorities are now reconstructing financial flows tied to these transactions to determine whether proceeds were laundered through international offshore networks.
The allegations have intensified scrutiny of both HITA’s ownership arrangements and the broader political relationships surrounding the refinery.
HITA Holds Strategic Importance in Madagascar
The Huilerie Industrielle de Tamatave refinery occupies a strategically important position within Madagascar’s economy.
As the country’s primary industrial edible oil refinery, HITA plays a major role in domestic food supply chains and cooking oil distribution.
Investigators allege that connected business and political actors manipulated refinery operations to create artificial shortages of cooking oil and other basic food commodities.
According to the investigation, those shortages may have allowed insiders to extract abnormal profits from Madagascar’s consumer market while limiting state oversight of refinery operations.
Authorities are also examining allegations that government-linked interests maintained indirect economic exposure to the refinery through undisclosed partnership structures.
The case has therefore evolved into more than a financial crime inquiry.
It now touches on food security, commodity pricing, political influence and the use of offshore financial systems in one of Africa’s most fragile economies.
Mauritius Intensifies Offshore Financial Investigation
The Mauritius FCC has significantly expanded its forensic financial investigation since Ravatomanga’s arrest in late 2025.
Authorities allege the businessman laundered approximately 7.3 billion Mauritian rupees — roughly $163 million — through a network of companies registered in Mauritius, Seychelles and other offshore jurisdictions.
The Mauritius Supreme Court issued Criminal Attachment Orders freezing accounts connected to Ravatomanga, associates and more than 40 affiliated companies.
Investigators are now reconstructing timelines tied to Ravatomanga’s business activities and political relationships during his years of proximity to former Malagasy President Andry Rajoelina.
The inquiry widened further after authorities alleged that a former FCC commissioner secretly met Ravatomanga during the investigation in what prosecutors described as an attempt to obstruct the probe.
Analysts say the allegations have increased political sensitivity around the case both in Mauritius and Madagascar.
Lychee Export Investigation Triggered Broader Scrutiny
The HITA investigation grew partly out of earlier corruption and export-related probes involving SODIAT-linked businesses.
In February 2026, several SODIAT executives were detained in Madagascar in connection with alleged irregularities involving lychee exports routed through Mauritius.
Investigators alleged that export margins were artificially inflated through intermediary trading structures before funds were transferred into European markets.
That investigation eventually led Madagascar’s anti-corruption court, known as the Pole Anti-Corruption (PAC), to issue the first international arrest warrant against Ravatomanga around February 21, 2026.
A second arrest warrant followed in March linked to alleged corruption within Madagascar’s mining sector.
The HITA refinery allegations now represent what investigators describe as the most commercially significant element of the wider case because they involve documented industrial transactions tied to a major operating business.
Mamy Ravatomanga Remains in Mauritius
Mamy Ravatomanga was arrested in Mauritius on October 24, 2025, after arriving from Madagascar aboard a private jet earlier that month amid rising political tensions in his home country.
Authorities detained him at a private clinic where he had reportedly been receiving medical treatment.
Proceedings have moved slowly due partly to Ravatomanga’s medical condition and extended hospitalization arrangements that investigators say affected the pace of FCC questioning sessions.
Madagascar’s anti-corruption court has now issued three separate international arrest warrants against him.
Despite mounting legal pressure, Ravatomanga remains in Mauritius while legal proceedings and financial investigations continue across multiple jurisdictions.
Offshore Structures and African Commodity Trade Under Scrutiny
The widening investigation also highlights increasing international scrutiny of offshore corporate structures used in African commodity and industrial sectors.
Authorities across Africa and Europe have intensified efforts to track cross-border financial flows linked to corruption, resource extraction and politically connected business networks.
Commodity trading structures involving intermediary offshore companies often complicate ownership transparency and profit tracing.
Investigators in the Ravatomanga case are attempting to establish whether offshore entities were used primarily for legitimate international trade or to conceal beneficial ownership and divert profits.
The involvement of Mauritius-based financial structures has drawn attention because the country serves as a major offshore investment and corporate registration hub for African transactions.
Why This Matters
The Mamy Ravatomanga investigation has become one of the most significant corruption and financial crime cases involving Madagascar in recent years.
The probe combines allegations of money laundering, offshore financial manipulation, political influence and commodity market distortion tied to strategically important industries.
The case also reflects growing international cooperation between African and European authorities in pursuing complex cross-border financial investigations.
What Happens Next
Investigators in Mauritius, Madagascar and France are expected to continue tracing financial records, offshore company structures and refinery-linked transactions over the coming months.
Authorities will likely focus on establishing beneficial ownership arrangements tied to HITA and determining whether proceeds from refinery operations were illegally transferred through offshore networks.
For Mamy Ravatomanga, the expanding refinery investigation could significantly deepen both financial crime exposure and political scrutiny as multiple international proceedings continue unfolding.
