The South African government said on Monday that law enforcement officials in the United Arab Emirates accused Rajesh Gupta and Atul Gupta of the Gupta family of using their ties with former president Jacob Zuma to financially benefit and influence senior appointments. is arrested. The brothers have vehemently denied the allegations. It is not clear why the third brother, Ajay, was not arrested.
Officials said that in 2018, the Gupta family went into self-exile in Dubai after looting billions of rands from parastatal institutions in South Africa.
South Africa’s Department of Justice and Correctional Services said in a statement: “The Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services confirms that it has received information from law enforcement authorities in the UAE that justice fugitives Rajesh and Atul Gupta have been arrested. ” monday.
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“Discussions on the way forward are ongoing between the UAE and various law enforcement agencies in South Africa. The South African government will continue to cooperate with the UAE.”
Interpol had issued red notices to the Gupta brothers, who were also declared non-compassionate persons by the US and the UK.
Red notices are issued to the wanted fugitives of the prosecution to alert law agencies globally to arrest such persons pending extradition.
fled to South Africa in 2018
The family fled South Africa in 2018 after large public protests turned the net over them and the ANC eventually ousted Zuma and appointed Cyril Ramaphosa as acting president.
Earlier, South Africa had also appealed to the United Nations to bring Gupta back to South Africa after talks with the UAE did not yield results as there was no extradition treaty between the two countries.
The treaty was ratified in June 2021, when South Africa immediately began the process of requesting the extradition of the Guptas.
The Gupta family told the Commission of Inquiry into the possession of the state in 2018 that they were unwilling to return to South Africa to testify after several witnesses implicated them and Zuma in corrupt cases.
The brothers described the South African authorities as ‘recklessly incompetent’ in their affidavits to the commission.
Several witnesses testified to the rampant looting during Zuma’s nine-year term as President of South Africa and the role of the Guptas in influencing the appointment of cabinet ministers.
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Although the arrests were widely welcomed, analysts cautioned that the public should not expect a speedy resolution of the case against Gupta, as it could take a few years, while they are taking all available avenues to fight his extradition. terminate.
Wayne Duvenhej, CEO of the Organization to Eliminate Tax Abuse, said his investigation revealed that some 15 billion rands were looted by the Guptas before fleeing the country.
Originally from Saharanpur, India, the Gupta family entered South Africa by opening a shoe store in the early 1990s.
They soon expanded to include IT, media and mining companies, most of which have now been sold or closed.
Bank of Baroda (BOB) also got involved in the scam when it emerged that they had helped the Guptas by opening accounts when all South African banks had stopped dealing with the family.
BoB later shut down its South African operations citing global cuts in operations.