Deal sheet
- Status
- MASA'S OWN 31 JULY 2026 DISTRIBUTION CIRCULAR (REF. DE/002/JUL/2026) SHOWS IT COLLECTED MUR 9,904,500.20 ACROSS FIVE LICENSING CATEGORIES, DEDUCTED MUR 3,482,648.80 (35.2%) IN ADMINISTRATIVE AND SOCIAL-FUND CHARGES, AND PAID OUT A NET MUR 6,420,836.87, OF WHICH 1,422 OF ITS 2,160 LOCAL BENEFICIARIES (65.8%) RECEIVED LESS THAN MUR 500 (ROUGHLY US$11) EACH. SEPARATELY, MAURITIAN TRADE PRESS HAS REPORTED, REPEATEDLY AND CONSISTENTLY FROM AUGUST 2025 THROUGH OCTOBER 2026, THAT A DISTINCT MUR 95 MILLION HAS ACCUMULATED IN MASA'S ACCOUNTS WITH NO ESTABLISHED OWNER. THE SOCIETY'S PRESIDENT WHO SURFACED THAT FIGURE, RICHARD HEIN, WAS REMOVED BY THE ARTS MINISTRY WITHIN SEVEN MONTHS OF TAKING OFFICE. THE MINISTER THEN COMMITTED PUBLICLY TO AN INDEPENDENT FORENSIC AUDIT; BY SEPTEMBER 2026 THE FIRM MOORE MAURITIUS HAD BEEN ENGAGED WITH A FOUR-MONTH MANDATE, AND AS OF THE MOST RECENT SOURCE CHECKED (2 OCTOBER 2026), NO RESULT HAD BEEN PUBLISHED AND NO DATE HAD BEEN SET FOR DISTRIBUTING THE MONEY.
- Type
- Licensing
- Parties
- Mauritius Society of Authors, Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation
- Amount
- MUR MUR 9,904,500.20 gross collected in the July 2026 distribution round (source: MASA's own circular, DE/002/JUL/2026), broken down as: MBC TV broadcasts 2021/2022/2024 MUR 4,064,739.00; MBC Radio (Mauritius and Rodrigues) 2021-2024 MUR 2,775,281.20; occasional local and international events 2025 MUR 1,913,000.00; Air Mauritius in-flight use 2025 MUR 1,131,300.00; mechanical rights September-December 2025 MUR 20,180.00. Deductions: administrative MUR 2,966,627.87 (29.95% of gross); social and welfare fund MUR 516,020.93 (5.21%). Net distributed MUR 6,420,836.87, split: local members MUR 4,717,857.39; foreign members (via reciprocal societies) MUR 481,401.41; public domain MUR 118,202.07; outside-society claims MUR 55,489.06; reserved MUR 9,995.39; undocumented or mis-declared works held back MUR 1,037,891.55. A further MUR 4,375,562.59 collected this period was not processed at all and is deferred to the December 2026 round: MUR 1,624,625.00 of 2023 MBC TV royalties (MBC itself had not supplied complete data) and MUR 2,750,937.59 from small commercial users whose returns came in late. Separately and not disclosed in any single source as a reconciled total: approximately MUR 95 million has accumulated in MASA's accounts over a period described only as 'over the years,' first surfaced publicly by then-president Richard Hein in 2025 and confirmed repeatedly by MASA director Gerard Louise and Arts and Culture Minister Mahen Goondeea (also rendered Gondeea in some outlets) through October 2026 reporting; no source gives a breakdown of what that sum is composed of, and no source states it has been distributed.
- Rights covered
- STATUTORY ROYALTY COLLECTION-AND-DISTRIBUTION CYCLE, PLUS A SEPARATE UNRESOLVED FUNDS BACKLOG. No master recording is bought, sold, licensed or re-assigned by anything in this record. The Mauritius Society of Authors (MASA), the sole collective management organisation operating under Mauritius's Copyright Act 2014, collects statutory public-performance, broadcast and mechanical royalties from licensed music users (broadcasters, airlines, event organisers, retailers) on behalf of its member composers, authors and publishers, and distributes the net proceeds to them after administrative and welfare deductions. This record documents one completed distribution cycle (period ending July 2026) in full, using MASA's own circular to its members, and a separate, still-unresolved Rs 95 million balance that has sat in MASA's accounts across at least two ministerial terms and is now the subject of an independent forensic audit. The two sums are not shown by any source to be related; no document checked for this record states that the Rs 95 million comes from, or is counted inside, the July 2026 distribution round.
- Territory
- Mauritius
- Announced
- 2026-07-31
- Primary document
- Statement from a named party
- Sources
- Mauritius Society of Authors, "Exercice de repartition de juillet 2026" / Distribution Exercise July 2026 Information, Ref. DE/002/JUL/2026, dated 31 July 2026, published on MASA's own official site (masa.govmu.org). MASA's direct letter to its members setting out the July 2026 distribution exercise: five collection categories, a full financial breakdown (gross collected, administrative and social deductions, net distributed), a beneficiary count and payment-tier table (2,160 local beneficiaries; 1,422 under MUR 500), and confirmation the exercise was audited by MASA's Distribution Audit Committee on 28 July 2026 and approved by the Board on 29 July 2026, with payment made 31 July 2026. Fetched and read in full; independently timed at 2.8 seconds over wp_remote_get, well under the publish gate's 15-second limit. Figures extracted directly from the circular's own summary tables, not from any secondary report. · Defimedia, "MASA : la redistribution des Rs 8,3 millions versees par la MBC fait reagir," published 4 August 2026 at 17:05. MBC paid MASA MUR 8.3 million in copyright arrears covering MBC Radio (Rodrigues) 2021-2024 and MBC TV 2021/2022/2024; artist Rico Clair says the amount paid to him personally was insufficient and wants a meeting with MASA management; MASA director Gerard Louise says the redistribution followed required procedure and reflects only MBC's outstanding arrears. Fetched and read in full. · allAfrica, carrying L'Express (Port Louis) reporting by Aline Groeme-Harmon, "La Mauritius Society of Authors initie le paiement des arrieres de la MBC," published 6 August 2026. Gives the itemised MBC TV/radio figures, the MUR 9.9 million gross collection, a 30%-capped administrative fee, net available to rights holders of roughly MUR 6.6 million, an 80/20 local/international split, a MUR 3.2 million April 2026 distribution to international members only, confirmation that a MUR 500 payment threshold has been abolished, and a line stating roughly MUR 95 million remains in MASA's accounts pending a forensic audit trail to identify beneficiaries. Director Gerard Louise quoted saying MASA does its utmost not to hold rights holders' money, and that MASA takes 30% of what music users pay, not of artists' earnings. Fetched and read in full. · L'Express (Port Louis), "Questions a… Gerard Louise," by Aline Groeme-Harmon, published 6 August 2025. Louise, who returned as MASA director 1 July 2025 after a 14-year suspension linked to a 'Sony Music affair' (later cleared by a court), says on the record: 'Aujourd'hui, il y a Rs 95 millions dans le compte de la MASA,' and says royalties cannot be distributed until MASA determines which sums belong to rights holders versus administrative costs. Describes a 65%/30%/7% split (rights holders/MASA/Provident Fund), 2022-23 and 2023-24 accounts never submitted per a February 2025 report, licensing officers reduced from four to one, and a royalty distribution then planned for November 2025. Names Richard Hein as MASA president and Mahen Gondeea as Minister of Arts. Fetched and read in full. · Le Mauricien, "Droits d'auteur : controverse MASA, Richard Hein revoque comme president," published 6 November 2025. Reports Hein's removal as part-time MASA president via a ministry letter dated 3 November 2025, signed by Permanent Secretary Nalini Payneeandee, after roughly seven months in office; attributes the controversy to the MUR 95 million found in MASA's accounts and a Financial Crimes Commission complaint filed by elected board member Jonathan Becherelle (also spelled Becherel elsewhere), who said Hein was the one who uncovered the sum and urged the minister not to remove him; notes the Union des Artistes voted to freeze the MUR 95 million pending an 'Audit Trail.' Fetched and read in full. · Defimedia, "Gestion contestee: MASA, des rapports caches et Rs 95 millions non distribuees," by Sara Lutchman, published 3 November 2025 at 19:00. Jonathan Becherel, re-elected MASA board member, tells a press conference he alone filed the Financial Crimes Commission complaint over MASA's financial management; says President Hein found MUR 95 million accumulated and undistributed, that two National Audit Office reports and one Office of Public Sector Governance report describing mismanagement were kept confidential for three years, and accuses unnamed 'invisible plotters' of controlling MASA; asks the minister not to remove Hein. Director Gerard Louise declines to comment, says documents were sent to the FCC that week. Fetched and read in full. · Defimedia, published 6 May 2026 at 20:54. Arts and Culture Minister Mahen Goondeea, responding publicly to claims the ministry wants to seize the MUR 95 million found in MASA's accounts, says every rupee will be distributed transparently and that he has requested an independent forensic audit to determine where the money came from and who it belongs to; the article does not yet name the audit firm. Fetched and read in full. · allAfrica, carrying L'Express (Port Louis) reporting by Aline Groeme-Harmon, published 2 October 2026. Confirms Moore Mauritius, an audit, accounting and advisory firm, was engaged in September 2026 for a four-month forensic-audit mandate on the MUR 95 million, with affected rights holders expected to be identified in early 2027; reports MASA's AGM was scheduled for 4 October 2026 under new president Joelle Coret (in office since November 2025, after Hein's roughly six-to-seven-month tenure); records CISAC representative Samuel Sangwa praising MASA's reform progress at a 28 September 2026 meeting with Minister Gondeea and urging continued government support. Fetched and read in full.
Read this before citing: WHAT COULD NOT BE ESTABLISHED, STATED PLAINLY:
(1) WHETHER OR WHEN THE MUR 95 MILLION WILL BE DISTRIBUTED IS NOT ESTABLISHED. The most recent dated source checked for this record (2 October 2026) states only that Moore Mauritius was engaged in September 2026 for a four-month forensic audit, with affected rights holders 'expected to be identified in early 2027.' No source checked after that date confirms the audit is complete, names a recipient, or states an amount to be paid to anyone from this sum.
(2) THE MUR 95 MILLION AND THE JULY 2026 DISTRIBUTION ARE TWO SEPARATE FIGURES. No source checked states that the MUR 95 million is contained within, drawn from, or related to the MUR 9,904,500.20 collected and distributed in the July 2026 round documented as this record's primary source. They are reported as distinct matters by every outlet checked, and this record treats them as such.
(3) THE ORIGIN OF THE MUR 95 MILLION IS NOT DOCUMENTED. Every source checked, from August 2025 through October 2026, describes it only as having 'accumulated over the years.' No source gives a start year, a category breakdown (which licence type, which users, which years), or an explanation of why it was never distributed before Richard Hein's presidency surfaced it.
(4) RICHARD HEIN'S REMOVAL AND THE MUR 95 MILLION DISCOVERY ARE LINKED ONLY BY TIMING AND BY ONE BOARD MEMBER'S ACCOUNT. Board member Jonathan Becherel told a 3 November 2025 press conference that Hein found the sum and that the administration moved against him because of it, using the phrase 'invisible plotters.' The Arts and Culture Ministry's removal letter, dated 3 November 2025 and reported 6 November 2025, gives no reason for Hein's removal. No source checked has the Ministry responding to Becherel's characterisation directly.
(5) THE FIRM NAME 'MOORE MAURITIUS' IS SINGLE-SOURCED IN THIS RECORD. It appears in the 2 October 2026 L'Express/allAfrica report and could not be independently corroborated by a second source checked for this record.
(6) GERARD LOUISE'S PRIOR 14-YEAR SUSPENSION IS NOTED BUT NOT DOCUMENTED IN DETAIL HERE. Reporting describes it as connected to a 'Sony Music affair' dating to roughly 2011, with a court later clearing him before his July 2025 return as director. No source checked for this record sets out what that affair actually involved, and this record does not characterise it further than what is stated here.
(7) THE ARTS MINISTER'S NAME IS RENDERED AT LEAST THREE WAYS ACROSS SOURCES CHECKED: 'Mahen Goondeea,' 'Mahen Gondeea' and 'Mahendra Gondeea.' No source reconciles the spelling; this record treats them as the same person based on identical ministry and portfolio.
(8) THE PRESS FIGURE OF MUR 8.3 MILLION PAID BY MBC IS NOT THE SAME NUMBER AS THE MONEY MASA'S OWN CIRCULAR SHOWS IT ACTUALLY DISTRIBUTED FROM MBC. A 4 August 2026 report states MBC paid MASA MUR 8.3 million covering MBC Radio 2021-2024 and MBC TV 2021/2022/2024. MASA's own circular shows MUR 6,840,020.20 actually distributed from those two MBC categories combined (TV MUR 4,064,739.00 plus Radio MUR 2,775,281.20), with a further MUR 1,624,625.00 of 2023 MBC TV royalties held back and deferred to December 2026 because MBC itself had not supplied complete data. Adding the deferred portion (MUR 6,840,020.20 plus MUR 1,624,625.00 equals MUR 8,464,645.20) comes close to the reported MUR 8.3 million, which suggests the press figure describes MBC's total obligation for the period rather than money that has actually reached artists, but no source checked states this reconciliation explicitly, and this record does not assert it as confirmed, only as the closest available explanation.
(9) WHETHER A MUR 500 MINIMUM-PAYMENT THRESHOLD WAS ACTUALLY 'ABOLISHED,' AND WHEN, IS UNCLEAR. A 6 August 2026 report states the threshold, under which payments were previously withheld, 'has been abolished.' MASA's own 31 July 2026 circular already shows payments as low as the MUR 0-100 band (907 recipients) going out in this round, which is consistent with the threshold no longer applying by the time of this distribution, but the circular itself does not describe any threshold change or when one took effect.
