Vickhram Katralh and Gavin Kaye (Chairman and Corporate Finance Advisor of Omega Ark Group): “The government was trying to get money transferred into Mauritius”

The following interview was conducted on Monday 24 October, after the deal between the NICHL and Omega Ark was cancelled. The Chairman and Corporate Finance Advisor of the British group do not mince their words about the government’s attitude.

BUSINESSMAG. The deal for the sale of Apollo Bramwell Hospital concluded between the National Insurance Company Healthcare Ltd (NICHL) and Omega Ark Group has been called off. What are the circumstances that led to this abrupt end?

Gavin Kaye: The problem is that the government has taken three months to complete the responses to the four conditions attached to the deal. The last one being the lease, which they claim they completed on Thursday (the 20^th of October) and they handed a letter to me subsequently. We had not discussed the last points so, at the very best, if we give them the benefit of doubt, they could probably claim that they had satisfied all the conditions by Thursday night. On Friday (the 21^st of October), they cancelled the contract owing to reasons which, according to us, are related to the non-business aspect of the deal: either the media or political pressure.

We are pretty much certain that the cancellation happened because they had served a notice a week before and what they were trying to do was to get money transferred into Mauritius, not to them, but simply into the country. Perhaps they wanted to prove that Omega Ark had funds and that they did not want to fulfil the conditions until they saw the money in Mauritius.

BUSINESSMAG. The reason put forward by the NICHL, and voiced out by Finance Minister Pravind Jugnauth for the termination of the agreement is that Omega Ark did not respect the delay for the payment of the $11 million awaited, in spite of the legal notice sent out a few days ago. Why is that so?

Gavin Kaye:There was nothing in the contract to request that and the notice was not served on the basis of anything legal. We are in a kind of impasse right now. As far as we can sense, in another day or two, we would have also been satisfied with the conditions and gone ahead with the transaction. This is what I explained to them on Thursday (20 October) on behalf of the Chairman, Vickhram Katralh, and they were very comfortable with it during the meeting before proceeding to do a complete U-turn on Friday. I have no clue as to what happened on Friday at either the NICHL meeting or the Cabinet meeting. I had explained the situation regarding the transfer of funds as well as Vickhram Katralh’s conditions attached to that and the remaining conditions.

BUSINESSMAG. What exactly do you mean when you say the conclusion of this deal was facing political pressure?

Gavin Kaye:By political pressure – and all I can do is read what I see in the newspapers –, I mean the questions from the Leader of the Opposition, as well as the comments made in Parliament and by the Ministry of Finance. There is obviously pressure being put on the government and the NICHL to see some cash from Omega Ark and this seemed to be coming from political parties, not from the contract.

Vickhram Katralh:The worst part is the fact that the contract which has been signed between the two parties and the reasons given for its termination have no correlation. For whatever reason, political or not, they wanted us to transfer the money to Mauritius but this never figured in the clauses of the contract. The transaction was very simple: we were to complete the paperwork and then we would transfer the funds to the notary. We even tried to do that three weeks ago. Besides, the government should respect the fact that when they had no money to pay salaries, no other bidder came forward to help them, except us.

Gavin Kaye:We tried to arrange a transfer of funds with them. However, the notary was unable to accept a transfer of funds to be held on our behalf because she wanted to hold them in escrow and the government did not want to do that.

BUSINESSMAG. As at now, has there been any proof of funds submitted by Omega Ark to the NICHL or the government?

Vickhram Katralh:No, there has not, since it was never part of the transaction a year back when the negotiations started. We complied with the requirements and if it was needed at that time, we would have done so.

BUSINESSMAG. Certain documents disclosed in the press (bearing the seal of Nabarro) questioned the authenticity of the “purchasing power” of the group. What is your response?

Vickhram Katralh:Neither Omega Ark nor Nabarro is aware of that. The paper that was leaked out has no relation with this deal.

BUSINESSMAG. During your first interview with Business Magazine, you mentioned that political interference was not a concern or an issue in the conclusion of this deal, in spite of several other roadblocks. Have things changed along the way? What has been the government’s role?

Vickhram Katralh:Well, I am certain that the government’s role in this deal is normal: to make sure the transaction goes on smoothly because the NICHL comes directly under governmental bodies. That is their involvement.

Gavin Kaye:Vidianand Lutchmeeparsad, Director of the NICHL, is also the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance. His boss is Dev Manraj, so there is a link between the two. I tend to think these are rather interlinked. When he writes to us, he does so as the Director of the NICHL but at the same time, we get the feeling that he is speaking on behalf of various ministers.

BUSINESSMAG. What is the next step now? Is there a possibility you could reconsider the Omega Ark Hospital deal if the government retracts its decision?

Vickhram Katralh: We have already e-mailed them and are waiting for their reply. Firstly, we are not even thinking about reconsidering the deal because we are still in it, as confirmed in the last communication which went from our side.

Secondly, if they don’t listen to us because they are the government and can do anything, then we will not come back; we will walk away from the deal. Gavin Kaye has tried to get in touch with the Minister of Finance during the past week without any success.

We remain fully prepared to complete the acquisition of the hospital – our desire has not diminished 1% – and perhaps when those who make decisions reflect on the facts rather than the gossip, they will come to their senses and finish what they have started.

BUSINESSMAG. Is the group conscious of the fact that the whole Omega Ark issue is being regarded as a financial joke in the industry? Press articles also bring to light unpaid bills by Omega Ark to certain operators. What is your response?

I can’t see clearly what industry you are referring to but if you mean the media, then this is of course their right as they only listen to one side of the story and what they hear makes good reading and sells newspapers! All I can say is that Omega Ark is a serious investment company with strong relationships in many countries and only in Mauritius are we experiencing such an appalling level of disrespect with not a single thought about the fact that we are foreign investors bringing money and job security to your country.