Cape Town – Political parties have expressed disappointment after a United Arab Emirates (UAE) court dismissed South Africa’s request to extradite Atul and Rajesh Gupta, brothers who face money laundering and fraud charges.
South Africa said on Friday that it learnt with “shock and dismay” that the UAE had turned down its request to extradite two brothers accused of orchestrating industrial-scale corruption.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said the government was notified on Thursday evening of a Dubai court decision not to allow for the extradition of business tycoons Atul and Rajesh Gupta.
“We learnt with shock and dismay that the extradition hearing had been concluded in the Dubai Court on the 13 February 2023 and our extradition request was unsuccessful,” Lamola said in a statement.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) described the “bungled” Gupta extradition as a “national embarrassment” and “monumental failure”.
“This is a disgrace and confirms his utter lack of control of this portfolio and gross dereliction of duty,” DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach.
Speaking during an interview with eNCA, Breytenbach said: “I find it unconvincing…. they should have been on top of this extradition.
“It’s unthinkable that an extradition hearing can take place in February without the South African authorities being notified and then only being notified of the outcome now in April. I have, in my entire existence as prosecutor, never heard of such a thing.”
She added: “This begs the question of what exactly the criminal justice cluster has been doing for the past year. Each query has been met with platitudes and hollow assurances that everything was under control. Clearly, this is far from the truth.”
Meanwhile, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said he welcomed that the justice ministry will appeal the decision by UAE courts although the failure of the extradition was request was disappointing.
In a statement, Mashaba said the fact that the UAE rejected the extradition request, but government was only made aware of the decision recently, confirmed that South Africa had “lost the respect of the international community”.
“It’s concerning that our diplomats in the UAE failed to keep the government updated on the court proceedings. Both Justice Minister, Ronald Lamola, and International Relations Minister, Naledi Pandor, need to answer difficult questions about this.
Press Statement by @HermanMashaba
ActionSA PresidentFailure of Gupta’s Extradition Request Sign of SA’s Declining International Standing pic.twitter.com/TOvPmyasDB
— James de Villiers (@pejames) April 7, 2023
“It’s also important to question how the ANC-led government allowed and possibly assisted the Gupta family in leaving South Africa, after allegations of their involvement in state capture first emerged.
“The ANC enabled the Guptas and their associates to steal billions from state coffers, and it seems like their policies will allow the Guptas to get away with their crimes,” Mashaba said.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: Twitter/@joy_zelda
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Composed by Betha Madhomu
Additional information by AFP
Guptas are free citizens of Vanuatu
Cape Town – The Guptas are now citizens of Vanuatu in the Pacific islands, the Director-general of the justice department advocate Doctor Mashabane has reportedly said.
According to Times Live, Mashabane said the department only learn about this development on Friday.
“In the communication we received, the judgment makes reference to the Guptas being citizens of a country called Vanuatu in the Pacific islands.
“This was a new development for us because previously their status was that they were carrying South African citizenship.
“I think that this is a critical development as well that the UAE court recorded them as being citizens of Vanuatu,” the report quoted Mashabane as saying.
South Africa said on Friday it had learnt with “shock and dismay” that the United Arab Emirates had turned down its request to extradite two Guptas brothers accused of orchestrating industrial-scale corruption.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said the government was notified on Thursday evening of a Dubai court decision not to allow for the extradition of business tycoons Atul and Rajesh Gupta.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola:
6 April 2023, we learned with shock from UAE that our Gupta extradition request was denied by a Dubai court on 13 Feb 2023
1.. Court said UAE has jurisdiction to prosecute money laundering
2. Court found that a fraud arrest warrant was canceled pic.twitter.com/ZMAgbuCQMa
— Izwe Lethu (@LandNoli) April 7, 2023
“We learnt with shock and dismay that the extradition hearing had been concluded in the Dubai Court on the 13 February 2023 and our extradition request was unsuccessful,” Lamola said in a statement.
According to Algoa FM, the briefing followed reports that the Guptas were spotted in Switzerland when they were supposed to be in custody.
Lamola said the development happened in February this year but authorities literally only discovered this on Thursday, April 6.
He said they were also surprised to learn that the UAE considered the Gupta’s to be residents of Vanuatu, an island in the South Pacific.
Bloomberg reported that Atul and Rajesh Gupta, reportedly used their South African passports to fly by private jet and have been visiting the Central African Republic, where they have sought asylum.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: Twitter/@Manikipi
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Composed by Betha Madhomu
Additional information by AFP
