The businessman: “I have not yet chosen the party I will support”

• “How can I forget that it was under a Ramgoolam government that I obtained SMS Pariaz? »

Jean Michel Lee Shim, businessman and betting magnate in Mauritius, is waiting for Nomination Day to choose his political party for the next elections. He denies being a 'Politically Exposed Person' and mentions possible financing from another party. He answered questions from Nawaz Noorbux, Patrice Esmyot and Santosh Ramdin on Friday on the show Au Cœur de l'Info.

According to the businessman, considered the backer of the MSM, he will wait for Nomination Day and the program of the different political parties to decide which party he will support in the next general elections. “Last time I only supported the MSM, I will do the same this time. But first, I will have to read the programs of the different parties before deciding. I will support only one party, but I haven't chosen yet. We will not engage in political prostitution by supporting more than one,” affirmed the man who is considered the betting magnate in Mauritius, while specifying: “I did not give a penny to the MSM, I only did campaign for this party. »

Jean Michel Lee Shim also maintained that he is not a “Politically Exposed Person” (PEP), having not been part of any board during the 10 years preceding obtaining his Personal Management License (PML). “To me, a PEP is someone who has served on advice on a government appointment. However, after leaving the Board of Investment in 2012, of which I was director, I had a cooling period of 10 years. Which means that I am no longer a PEP.” To add: “I am not a requester and I can tell you that I receive nothing from the government. »

Neutral ground for racing

Addressing the question of the next general elections, Jean Michel Lee Shim underlines that the People's Turf PLC (PTP) has taken the decision to no longer organize horse races so that the different political blocs can have free rein during the next electoral campaign for to be able to approach the subject of turf on “neutral ground”, without having to mention Jean Michel Lee Shim or the PTP.

“As I said, I will make my decision on Nomination Day. So how can this embarrass the MSM? Who tells you that I will support the MSM in the next elections? I am a neutral person,” he maintained.

Regarding the probable rapprochement between the PMSD of Xavier-Luc Duval and the MSM, Jean Michel Lee Shim specifies that he has not been subjected to “any pressure” and affirmed that the PTP magazine mentioned the leader of the PMSD in his editorial, after the latter criticized the metal structures erected by the PTP at the Champ de Mars. “We wanted to remind him that, under the conditions of the contract with Côte d'Or International Racecourse and Entertainment Complex Ltd (COIREC), it is stipulated that All structures must be 'removable'. »

Jean Michel Lee Shim concluded that, in the next elections, he will not spend more than the sum of Rs 10 million that he had spent with the MSM in 2019. “It is always possible that I finance a party other than the MSM in the next elections. How can I forget that it was under Navin Ramgoolam's government that I obtained SMS Pariaz? I was a member of the Labor Party,” he said.