| Honorific-Prefix: | The Honorable |
| Roshi Sudarshan Bhadain रोशि बादें MP[1] GCSK [2] | |
| Order: | Minister of Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms |
| President: | Ameenah Gurib |
| Primeminister: | Sir Anerood Jugnauth |
| Term Start: | 22 December 2014 |
| Term End: | 23 January 2017 |
| Order1: | Member of Parliament (MP) |
| President1: | Ameenah Gurib |
| Primeminister1: | Sir Anerood Jugnauth Pravind Jugnauth |
| Term Start1: | 22 December 2014 |
| Term End1: | 16 June 2017 |
| Order2: | Leader of Reform Party |
| Term Start2: | 23 January 2017 |
| Birth Date: | 25 April 1971 |
| Birth Place: | Mauritius |
| Children: | Rishon Bhadain, Rishna Bhadain |
| Party: | Reform Party[3] (present) |
| Occupation: | Lawyer Accountant Investigator Politician |
| Alma Mater: | Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountant (FCCA) (UK) |
| Awards: | Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (2016) |
(Roshi) Sudarshan Bhadain (GCSK) (born 25 April 1971) is a Mauritian politician.
Roshi Bhadain completed his secondary education at Royal College Curepipe before studying law at University of West Bristol. He also studied Accountancy before working for KPMG in England. On his return to Mauritius he worked at the Economic Crime Office (ECO) which was restructured into the Independent Commission Against Corruption (Mauritius) (ICAC). He has practised as a Barrister-at-Law in Mauritius and a Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant since 2002 in the areas of fraud, financial crime, corruption and money laundering.[4]
At the 10 December 2014 National Assembly elections Roshi Bhadain was elected as a candidate of Alliance Lepep (MSM-PMSD-ML) in Constituency No. 18 (Belle Rose-Quatre Bornes).[5] He was the Minister of Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms[6] under the government of Militant Socialist Movement. On 23 January 2017 he resigned from the MSM-ML government as he disagreed with the undue influence of vested interests on the government led by Pravind Jugnauth, following the unexpected resignation of elected Prime Minister Sir Anerood Jugnauth.
After the 2014 elections, Roshi Bhadain, then holding a ministerial position, addressed the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), a constitutional position, on public media[7] while at the same time defending a prosecution commission bill. Had this prosecution commission bill been enacted into a law, the administration would have gained more power over the DPP, which would have greatly impacted the democracy of Mauritius island. In order to save the latter, the PMSD resigned from the government by the end of 2016, thus weakening the voting power of the bill at the National Assembly.
Roshi Bhadain was a government's back-bencher for less than 6 months, before resigning from Parliament on 16 June 2017, claiming that he did not agree with the safety and financial aspects of the Metro Express project.[8] [9] His resignation triggered by-elections in Constituency No. 18 held on 17 December 2017, with the nett result that it enabled Arvin Boolell to secure a seat in Parliament. Indeed Roshi Bhadain came out third (2913 votes), behind Arvin Boolell (7990 votes), and Nita Juddoo (4839 votes). Behind Roshi Bhadain, trade unionist Jack Bizlall came out fourth, Dhanesh Maraye came out fifth, Tania Diolle came out sixth, and Kugan Parapen came out in the seventh place. Since 2017 Roshi Bhadain is the leader of the Reform Party (Mauritius), which he founded after leaving Mouvement Socialiste Mauricien (MSM).[10] [11] [12] [13]
In November 2012 Triolet resident and Parti Travailliste activist Nitesh Ramdharry appeared in a local newspaper after claiming to have been assaulted by thugs representing Parti Travailliste agent Hemant Bangaleea, who also happened to live a few metres away from Ramdharry. The latter had paid Rs 40 Millions to jailed Bangaleea to buy blocks of land (6 arpents) in Goa, India for a new hotel resort, but soon found out that Bangaleea had fooled him with a fake contract. Ramdharry then sought Bhadain's legal help to recover his funds. However, Nitesh Ramdharry turned against Bhadain by claiming in 2 affidavits that Bhadain advised him to exaggerate the amount of cash handed over to jailed Hemant Bangaleea from the true amount of Rs 8.7 Millions to Rs 40 Millions for the land purchase. Ramdharry also alleged that Bhadain advised him to include the names of 3 former Parti Travailliste ministers (Anil Bachoo, Vasant Bunwaree and Rajesh Jeetah) in order to turn Bangaleea's extortion into another Labour Party political scandal. On 17 December 2013, when Navin Ramgoolam was still the Labour PM of Mauritius, Roshi Bhadain was interrogated by the Central Criminal Investigation Department (CCID) and he had to fight against charges of 'conspiracy' and 'failing to give a receipt'. Bhadain then sued Nitesh Ramdharry for 'false and malicious denunciations in writing', especially given that Ramdharry had already paid Rs 40 Millions to Bangaleea, a long time before Bhadain's involvement. In March 2014 all cases against Bhadain were dismissed, as a result of Ramdharry's checkered past and lack of credibility.[14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]
On 17 December 2021 Roshi Bhadain was arrested at his bungalow in Albion by the Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT) on provisional charges of conspiracy to commit larceny after plotting to steal valuable wooden raw materials and structural posts made of teak belonging to the State, and which were preserved and warehoused at the premises of the Development Works Corporation (DWC) at Pailles. This became known as L'affaire bois de teck or Scandale lames en teck in the Mauritian press. A carpenter called Joseph Kinsley Perrine lodged a statement with police, claiming that an intermediary called Bijay Greedharry sought his services to install the teak boards at Bhadain's residence 10 years earlier in 2011, at the time when Bhadain was a director of the ICAC. Police believed that Bhadain had instructed an ICAC inspector. Indeed in 2010 there had been a case of robbery at the DWC warehouse in Pailles, and police believe that the cargo of stolen hardwood was sent to a carpentry workshop located in Roche Bois before finally being used at Bhadain's home in Albion. Greedharry bribed the DWC security guard with Rs 10 000 to facilitate the theft. Soon afterwards in 2011 Perrine was arrested for stealing 300 boards and 70 'Timber Wood'. Bhadain claimed that he paid Rs 70 per square foot for the teak boards, and then accused gambling and underworld figure Jean Michel Lee Shim of a political conspiracy, and backed his accusations with audio recordings which he submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions. One witness withdrew his statement and by mid March 2022 all charges against Bhadain were dropped.[20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27]