Dubai police are coordinating with their South African counterparts to secure the extradition of two Indian-born wealthy brothers wanted by South African authorities on criminal charges and money laundering who were arrested on Monday in the emirate.
Atul and Rajesh Gupta are accused of paying bribes in exchange for lucrative state contracts and influence in ministerial appointments during the chaotic nine-year presidency of Jacob Zuma, which ended amid allegations of systematic corruption in 2018. The brothers fled in Dubai shortly after the fall of Zuma. of power.
In a statement, Dubai police said they were acting on a red arrest warrant received from Interpol and coordinating with their South African counterparts to secure the extradition of the two men.
The South African justice ministry confirmed the arrests, but downplayed expectations that any of his brothers would be brought back to South Africa to be tried in the near future, saying only that “discussions between several law enforcement agencies in the United Arab Emirates and South Africa on the way forward. “
The arrests will boost Cyril Ramaphosa, Zuma’s successor, but may once again highlight the problem of corruption under the ruling party of the African National Congress.
An investigation led by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo recently described how the brothers came to South Africa from India in 1993 to build an expanding business empire and engaged with the highest levels of the Zuma government and ‘ANC.
In May, Zondo accused Zuma of systematic and illegal efforts to give the Gupta brothers control of billions of dollars in state assets.
In a 1,000-page document, the judge also said that the Guptas were the beneficiaries of Zuma’s efforts to fire competent officials, intervene in management decisions, appoint compliance ministers, and influence the award of large-numbered contracts.
Interpol said last year that the brothers were wanted for fraud and money laundering in connection with a 25 million rand (£ 1.3 million) contract paid to a Gupta-linked company, Nulane Investment, to carry carried out an agricultural feasibility study.
Zuma and the Guptas deny the wrongdoing. They have previously said that the allegations against them are politically motivated.
Jacob Zuma Foundation spokesman Mzwanele Manyi did not comment when contacted by local journalists.
Zuma is on medical parole while serving a 15-month prison sentence following his conviction last year for contempt of court for defying a constitutional court order to testify before Zondo’s investigation.
The 80-year-old man was jailed in July last year, a measure that sparked days of unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces in which shops, warehouses and factories were looted and many burned. More than 300 people have been killed in riots, the worst in South Africa since the end of the apartheid regime in 1994. ANC officials loyal to Ramaphosa have described the violence as “political sabotage” and a possible attempt to coup d’etat.
After three months behind bars, Zuma was released on medical condition due to an undisclosed health condition. A subsequent court ruling ruled that medical parole was invalid, but his lawyers are appealing that sentence.
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In the report, Zondo questioned why the ANC government had failed to act to prevent alleged corruption.
“Were they aware of everything but did not have the courage to stop President Zuma and his friends, the Gupta, in what they were doing? Were they looking the other way? “The judge wrote.” The ANC and the ANC government should be ashamed that this happened under their supervision. “
Ramaphosa has been vice president since 2014, but the report will hurt his enemies and rivals within the ANC more than his own reputation. Analysts say the former union leader and business mogul has a good chance of winning a second term at the polls in 2024, although he should secure a new term as leader at a conference later this year.