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Businessmen Atul and Rajesh Gupta were implicated in the looting of President Jacob Zuma’s public budget. They fled to the United Arab Emirates about five years ago.
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By John Eligon
Johannesburg Report
South African officials are furious after a United Arab Emirates court on Thursday rejected their request for the extradition of brothers Atul and Rajesh Gupta, businessmen accused of large-scale corruption, at a hearing seven weeks ago in which the South African government said no one had bothered to tell them.
The Guptas had been singled out as the pillars of widespread looting of the public budget during former President Jacob Zuma’s tenure, which contributed to the country’s shattered economy. One researcher estimated that the Guptas, who fled to the United Arab Emirates. minus $3. 2 billion in profits through an extensive network of businesses and government connections.
The Guptas denied wrongdoing and said they suffered political disputes.
South African Justice Minister Ronald Lamola on Friday accused the United Arab Emirates of failing to respect a treaty between the two countries. He told a news convention that South Africa had lobbied its UAE counterparts for updates on the case for several months.
But it wasn’t until Thursday night that the UAE sent an official to report that a Feb. 13 hearing had been held in Dubai and that the Gupta brothers were no longer in custody because extradition had been denied.
“We learned with surprise and dismay that the extradition hearing is over,” Malola said.
The South African government says it will appeal. But as the fate of the Guptas is unknown and South Africa has to depend on the United Arab Emirates. Responsible for the appeal, there are serious questions about whether two of the country’s most wanted corruption suspects will ever be brought in. to justice
In June, the government and many South Africans hailed the Guptas’ arrest in Dubai as a vital moment in their country’s meticulous fight against endemic corruption. An investigation that began more than a decade ago on S. Zuma has led to accusations that the Guptases had great influence within the former president’s administration, which increased their influence in appointing government ministers.
South African officials said they knew where the Guptas were lately. A Justice Ministry official said the Dubai court’s ruling concerned the Gupta, who were born in India but held South African passports, being citizens of Vanuatu, an island organization in the South Pacific Ocean.
“This is new to us,” said the official, Dr. Mashabane, director-general of the Justice Ministry.
Africa Intelligence, an online news site, reported last week that the Guptases had been in Switzerland and applied for asylum in the Central African Republic.
Michael Hellens, a member of the Guptas, declined to comment on his fate or the extradition case.
The Dubai court concluded that the rate of money laundering the Guptas’ faced occurred in the UAE and South Africa, and that extradition can simply be refused as it can be prosecuted in the UAE, Mr. Simpson said. The court also found that an arrest warrant similar to the fraud and corruption indices had been quashed. Said.
But the South African government questions this explanation of the reason for the refusal. Shamila Batohi, the country’s lead prosecutor, said South African prosecutors had cancelled the original warrant and filed a new one that included fraud and corruption charges, as well as other charges, and that they have been sufficient for extradition.
“The fact that the court now has this critical factor and one of the reasons for the rejection of the application is somewhat confusing and, in our opinion, makes no sense,” he said.
What makes the denial blatant, Mr. Lamola, is that South African officials had cooperated extensively with the UAE government, going so far as to send prosecutors to the UAE to ensure that the extradition request was made in due form. The UAE’s judicial government proved that everything had been done correctly, he said.
The state news firm said three hearings were held to decide whether the brothers can be extradited.
The UAE also said South Africa failed to attach arrest warrants of the correct kind to its extradition request and that “the request did not meet the strict criteria of legal documentation as defined in the extradition agreement between” the countries, according to the news agency.
Although there were gaps in South Africa’s extradition request, Mr. Lamola argued that the United Nations Convention against Corruption required the United Arab Emirates to allow South Africa to submit what was applicable before rejecting a request.
Any call would be confusing because of the comings and goings of the Guptas. If they are no longer in the UAE, South Africa would possibly have to negotiate with other countries to stop them.
“This is what the other people of this country expect and want,” said Ms. Batohi, the lead prosecutor. “We will spare no effort in this process. “
Vivian Nereim contributed reporting from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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