Cape Town – The Department of Justice has established a joint task team with officials from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to look into the successful extradition of the Gupta brothers.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola met with the UAE Justice Minister Abdullah Nuaimi on Monday to discuss mutual legal assistance between the two countries, a statement from the department said.
Rajesh and Atul Gupta are wanted in South Africa on charges of fraud, corruption, and money laundering related to state capture.
The Department of Justice aims to bring the Gupta brothers to the country for trial despite a previous failed extradition attempt.
“During the meeting, minister Lamola expressed his concerns about the status of fugitives and the court’s findings. He suggested measures that could be taken to facilitate successful extradition and emphasized that this is a matter of national interest for South Africa.
On 5 June 2023, the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Mr Ronald Lamola, met with H.E. Abdullah Sultan bin Awad Al Nuaimi, the Minister of Justice of the United Arab Emirates, in Abu Dhabi.https://t.co/up2hmr4YmX pic.twitter.com/XRrbi1xW4V
— Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services ?? (@Min_JCS) June 7, 2023
“The UAE has put in place all the necessary measures to meet its international obligations and assist and support South Africa in its quest to bring justice to the Republic of South Africa and the UAE,” the department said.
It said that officials from the UAE assured South African authorities that the brothers are in police custody.
The joint task team will meet next week to prepare new extradition applications for the Gupta brothers.
“A technical joint task team will meet on 15 June to go through the extradition requests for extradition afresh and the additional mutual legal assistance from South Africa.
“Furthermore, the nations’ respective financial intelligence centres review all the information required. Establishing this task team will allow them to collaborate closely to ensure the fair administration of justice. This is a positive step towards strengthening the partnership and achieving shared goals,” said the department.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
