The South African government announced at the weekend that its request for the extradition of brothers Atul and Rajesh Gupta, at the heart of a massive state corruption scandal involving former President Jacob Zuma, has been denied by a court in the United Arab Emirates.
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said the government was informed on Thursday evening of a Dubai court’s decision not to allow the extradition of the two brothers, who were arrested in the same city in June.
“We were shocked and dismayed to learn that the extradition hearing was held in the Dubai court on February 13, 2023, and that our extradition request was denied,” Lamola said in a statement.
The two Guptas, along with a third brother Ajay, of Indian origin and a formidable trio of businessmen, are accused of looting the state coffers, with the complicity of Zuma, during his nine years in power (2009-2018). South Africa made an extradition request in July, shortly after the brothers were arrested in Dubai.
The trio fled South Africa shortly after a commission chaired by Justice Raymond Zondo was established in 2018 to investigate state corruption. At the center of the extradition request is a questionable public contract worth the equivalent of 1.5 million euros. A small part of the accumulated charges against the Gupta brothers.