Ajay and Atul Gupta, Duduzane Zuma and Jagdish Parekh, standing. Picture: Gallo Images
With the arrest of the wanted state capture accused Gupta brothers, South African and United Arab Emirates (UAE) law enforcement authorities say high-level discussions are now underway on the way to get the brothers back to South Africa to face justice.
The fugitives from justice Rajesh and Atul Gupta were handcuffed in Dubai reached South Africa on Monday evening.
A Interpol red notice was issued last year for the brothers who were wanted for widespread graft, fraud and money laundering.
The Gupta brothers, friends of Jacob Zuma, are accused of using their relationship with the former president to profit financially and influence senior government appointments. They deny wrongdoing.
In July last year Interpol said they were being sought in connection with a R25 million contract paid to a Gupta-linked company, Nulane Investment, to conduct an agricultural feasibility study.
They fled South Africa with their families in 2018 amid investigations into their alleged looting of billions of rands from state-owned enterprises.
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The Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said South Africa will continue to cooperate with the UAE on the matter.
Meanwhile, political party Good said the arrest of the fugitives is an important opportunity for the National Prosecuting Authority to restore the faith of South Africans in the criminal justice system.
In a statement, the party’s Brett Herron said the announcement of the arrest of the Guptas by the Justice Department implies the arrests are connected to South Africa’s widely-known interests.
“If this is so, the arrests will allow the South African authorities to commence an application for the notorious brothers’ extradition to stand trial. This would constitute a major breakthrough in the fight against state capture and corruption.”
“We urge the National Prosecuting Authority to demonstrate both the skills and the desire to see the Guptas stand trial for the myriad of crimes they are alleged to have committed,” Herron said.
Herron said the NPA must demonstrate that it pursues criminal justice regardless of politics, and the South African police services must do the same.
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