Supreme Court Halts FCC Auction of McLaren, Aston Martin and BMW

Mauritius's Supreme Court has stepped in to stop a high-profile government auction in its tracks — just days before the hammer was due to fall on four luxury vehicles seized by the Financial Crimes Commission (FCC). In a chambers order dated 18 September 2026, Justice A. D. Narain issued an injunction preventing the FCC from selling, disposing of, or in any way dealing with the four cars. The auction had been scheduled for 21 and 22 September 2026. **The vehicles at the centre of the dispute** The four cars named in the court order are no ordinary fleet. They include: - A **McLaren Artura** (registered YE 18) — a high-performance hybrid supercar valued at several hundred thousand US dollars new - An **Aston Martin** (registered YE 188) - A **BMW 740 X Drive** (registered YY 18) - A **Mini Cooper/One Hatch** (registered ME 16) The injunction also bars the FCC from allowing any further public inspection of the vehicles, which had been planned ahead of the auction. **Who is challenging the sale?** The case is being brought by Capitay (Mauritius) Ltd and Yasish Emrith against the FCC. The applicants appear to be asserting an ownership or proprietary interest in the vehicles and are contesting the legal basis on which the FCC is holding and seeking to sell them. **The key legal question** At the heart of the dispute is a critical legal distinction. During the hearing, the FCC's own Legal Adviser acknowledged that no **Criminal Attachment Order** — the formal mechanism used under Mauritian law to freeze assets directly linked to criminal proceedings — had been issued against these specific vehicles. Instead, the FCC said the cars were seized under **Section 61 of the Financial Crimes Commission Act**, a broader provision that grants the commission powers to seize assets in certain circumstances. The applicants argue that without a Criminal Attachment Order in place, the FCC lacks the legal authority to proceed with a sale. The court has evidently found this argument credible enough to warrant pausing the auction while the matter is fully heard. **What is the FCC?** The Financial Crimes Commission is Mauritius's primary agency for investigating financial crimes including money laundering, corruption, and asset recovery. It has broad powers to seize and, in some cases, dispose of assets connected to financial offences. However, those powers are subject to legal constraints — and it is precisely those constraints that are now being tested in court. **What this means** For the FCC, this is a significant setback: a court has effectively ruled that the auction cannot go ahead until the legal basis for the seizure is properly established. For Capitay (Mauritius) Ltd and Yasish Emrith, the injunction buys time to mount a full legal challenge. The case raises broader questions about the procedural safeguards that must be followed before seized assets — however valuable — can be liquidated by the state. The matter is expected to return before the Supreme Court for a full hearing in the coming weeks. Source: ION News