Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Praveen Sood on 21 August 2025 addressed officers of the Financial Crimes Commission (FCC) Mauritius on the concluding day of a two-week training programme at the CBI Academy in New Delhi, underscoring the growing threat of cybercrime and the need for faster cross-border investigations. The closing session was held at CBI Headquarters and presided over by Sood himself, according to an official statement.

What the Training Covered

The programme, which commenced on 10 August 2025, was delivered extensively on the investigation of financial crimes and cyber-enabled crimes. The course was conducted through the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme of the Ministry of External Affairs, one of India's primary platforms for international capacity building.

During the concluding session, Sood engaged with the Mauritius delegates on the reasons behind the surge in cybercrime in both countries, the challenges investigators face, and concrete strategies to reduce its impact. The discussion placed particular emphasis on making cross-border investigations more expeditious and effective — a growing priority as financial crimes increasingly exploit jurisdictional gaps.

Sood's Personal Connect with Mauritius

The session carried an added dimension: Sood had previously served as Police Advisor to the Government of Mauritius from 1999 to 2002, giving him firsthand familiarity with the island nation's law-enforcement landscape. His personal history with Mauritius lent the dialogue a continuity that goes beyond a routine training handshake, officials noted.

The ITEC Programme: Scale and Reach

The ITEC programme, instituted in 1964, is among the oldest institutionalised international capacity-building arrangements in the world, having trained more than 2,00,000 officials from over 160 countries in both civilian and defence sectors. In the training year 2025-26 alone, close to 9,000 professionals visited India under the programme.

Annually, ITEC offers more than 10,000 fully-funded in-person training opportunities at over 100 eminent institutes across India. Since 2014, more than 80,000 professionals — including over 30,000 women — from across the Global South have participated in ITEC-linked programmes, according to the official statement.

Why This Matters for India-Mauritius Ties

The training reflects a broader strategic intent: as cybercrime networks grow more sophisticated and transnational, bilateral investigative cooperation becomes a force multiplier. Mauritius, as a major financial hub in the Indian Ocean region, is a critical partner for India in tracing cross-border financial fraud and cyber-enabled money laundering. This programme is part of a pattern of India using ITEC as a soft-power instrument to deepen law-enforcement partnerships with Indian Ocean neighbours. With cybercrime losses mounting globally, the pressure on agencies like the CBI and FCC to close jurisdictional loopholes is only set to intensify.