Two brothers from the sulphurous Gupta family, involved in a vast state corruption scandal in South Africa, have been arrested in the United Arab Emirates. The two suspects, Atul and Rajesh Gupta, accused of having looted the coffers of several ministries under the presidency of Jacob Zuma, must be extradited and handed over to South African justice.
Ajay, Atul and Rajesh Gupta, three businessmen of Indian origin, are accused of looting state coffers, with the complicity of Jacob Zuma during his nine years in power, between 2009 and 2018. Arrived in South Africa in 1993, the Guptas built a business empire, investing in mining, IT and media. In 2019, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on them and froze their assets under its jurisdiction.
According to some estimates, the trio have won around three billion euros (50 billion rand) through illicit activities. South Africa has been trying to bring them to justice for years: Interpol launched a wanted notice in July against two of them.
In 2016, after revelations in the press, a damning report on widespread corruption details how the siblings close to the former South African president won lucrative public contracts and participated in the management of state affairs, going as far as to appoint ministers. They are accused of siphoning off the coffers of public companies in several sectors: electricity with Eskom, transport with Transnet and aviation with South African Airways.
The trio fled South Africa shortly after the establishment in 2018 of a commission of inquiry chaired by Judge Raymond Zondo.
“It’s clear that from the start of his first term, (former) President Zuma was ready to do whatever the Guptas wanted him to do for them.”
South African Judge Raymond Zondoin a report on corruption
These scandals contributed to the fall of the former head of state, dropped by the ANC, his party, and forced to resign. Jacob Zuma, sentenced to prison in July for contempt of court, is now on parole for health reasons. His corruption trial is still ongoing.
After the corruption cases under the Zuma presidency, it is the turn of his successor, the current president Cyril Ramaphosa, to be weakened by accusations that he bought the silence of burglars who fell on large sums of money. money in one of his properties.
In February 2020, according to the complaint filed on June 1, 2022 by former South African intelligence chief Arthur Fraser, burglars broke into a farm belonging to Mr Ramaphosa, where they found the equivalent of nearly 3 .8 million euros in cash. The complaint accuses Mr Ramaphosa of having concealed the burglary from the police and the money from the tax authorities. She also claims that the president would then “paid” burglar “for their silence”.
mined by a war of factions, the ANC must designate its presidential candidate in 2024 in the coming months. The ruling party is in difficulty in the face of its poor management of the country and a significant increase in unemployment.