Madagascar’s ruling military government has stripped former president Andry Rajoelina of his citizenship, days after his ousting, while one of his close allies was arrested on suspicion of money laundering.
According to a decree issued on 24 October by Prime Minister Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo, Rajoelina lost his Malagasy nationality after acquiring French citizenship. Under national law, any Malagasy citizen who voluntarily obtains foreign nationality automatically forfeits their own.
Rajoelina, aged 51, fled the country earlier this month after the army sided with anti-government protesters and seized control. His current whereabouts remain unknown.
Meanwhile, businessman Maminiaina Ravatomanaga, a known associate of the former president, was arrested on Friday in connection with an ongoing money laundering investigation led by the Financial Crimes Commission in Mauritius.
The commission stated that it had reasonable grounds to believe Ravatomanaga, while managing multiple entities in Mauritius, possessed assets suspected to be proceeds of criminal activity. Authorities have secured a criminal restraint order on both his personal bank accounts and those of his companies.
The investigation covers approximately 6.46 billion Mauritian rupees (141.8 million dollars) linked to corporate entities under his management, as well as 858.5 million rupees in his personal accounts.
Ravatomanaga has denied any wrongdoing, insisting in a legal statement that his wealth was legitimately earned over three decades of business operations in Mauritius and had been subject to oversight from reputable financial institutions. He maintained that all his assets were clean and lawfully acquired.
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