South Africa to follow up on arrest of Gupta brothers in India

Johannesburg: South Africa on Saturday said it will engage with the Indian government following reports of the arrest of two Gupta brothers there, one of whom is wanted here for allegedly looting billions from state-owned enterprises.

Atul, Ajay, and Rajesh Gupta, from an Indian-origin family, have been accused of siphoning billions of rands in South Africa through their close association with former president Jacob Zuma. The trio and their families fled to Dubai after Zuma was ousted from the presidency in 2018.

In 2023, the UAE refused the request for the extradition of Rajesh and Atul following which South Africa declared them as fugitives. The brothers had built a vast empire in the IT, media, and mining sectors.

The assets of the Gupta brothers in South Africa have been frozen amid legal challenges by them to have these released.

Indian media on Saturday reported Friday’s arrest of Anil and Ajay Gupta in Uttarakhand state on charges of abetment of suicide after a prominent builder named them in his suicide note before plunging off the terrace of his multi-storey apartment building.

There is uncertainty about whether this is the same Ajay Gupta who fled South Africa alongside his brothers Atul and Rajesh, the third one also on South Africa’s wanted list.

“Justice and Correctional Services has noted reports of the arrest of two Gupta brothers, Ajay and Anil, in India. Our arrest warrants were for Rajesh and Atul Gupta. Nevertheless, formal processes are underway through the High Commissioner in India to verify and for possible engagement,” Department of Justice spokesperson Chrispin Phiri told News24.

Officials said, although the reports identified the two as “brothers”, the trio that fled South Africa with their families is Ajay, Atul and Rajesh while Anil is believed to be their brother-in-law, married to their sister Achala.

Meanwhile, at an African National Congress rally in Johannesburg on Saturday, ahead of general elections in South Africa next week, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola confirmed that the government was aware of members of the Gupta family being arrested in India.

But he said there was uncertainty about whether any of them were the members for whom South Africa had issued warrants of arrest.