Zwane may have lied to parliament about Guptas – report

According to a report in the Sunday Times, it is alleged the Gupta family flew Mineral Resources Minister to India for medical treatment at a top New Delhi hospital in December 2015.

This is part of the latest information to emerge from the #GuptaLeaks emails, which reportedly show that details of Zwane’s diagnosis, treatment and prescriptions were sent to Tony Gupta by email.

This happened shortly after his appointment as mining minister allowed the Guptas to take over the Optimum coal mine from Glencore.

Zwane claimed in April last year that he had never met a Gupta or any of their associates since he became a minister, which, if untrue, could be a criminal offence punishable by jail. The DA told the Sunday Times that “if he failed to disclose his relationships and misled parliament, he doesn’t belong in that position”.

The then public protector, Thuli Madonsela, had raised the question of where Zwane was between December 2 and 5 of 2015, which now appears to be answered.

The paper reports Zwane shared a private jet with Tony during his trip, along with a number of Gupta business associates, among which was a man reportedly later arrested for money laundering in India.

The report reveals further details of Zwane being booked into a five-star hotel in Switzerland at the Guptas’ expense.

A previous leaked email has revealed that Zwane’s CV was sent to the Gupta family for alleged approval prior to him being appointed by President Jacob Zuma as the mining minister.

Zwane has continued to insist he has never seen evidence of any of the leaked emails despite their being in the public domain.

The minister reportedly failed to respond to requests for comment on this latest matter.