INTERPOL NABS ATUL AND RAJESH GUPTA IN DUBAI

Ajay, right, and Atul Gupta are on the run from the law in South Africa.

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Mon 06 June 2022:

As a result of an Interpol Red Notice issued at the request of the South African government, Atul and Rajesh Gupta, the kingpins of state capture during Jacob Zuma’s presidency, have been arrested in Dubai.

After Zuma, their patron and protector, was recalled as president in February 2018, the brothers fled to Dubai, where they were arrested on Friday, four months after the red notice was issued.

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The Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services informs that fugitives of justice Rajesh and Atul Gupta have been arrested after receiving information from law enforcement officials in the United Arab Emirates.

Various law enforcement agencies in the UAE and South Africa are currently discussing the best course of action. The government of South Africa will continue to work with the UAE.

Corruption Watch’s Karam Singh says: “If the arrest can then be followed through with extradition then I think that’s a huge breakthrough in terms of the push for accountability for State Capture”.

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Singh says the Gupta brothers “were the architects of these schemes, you know, along with former president [Jacob] Zuma”.

He says he didn’t think an arrest “was ever going to happen”.

“It seems they were able to effectively evade the long arm of the law but we know that the extradition treaty was finalised and negotiated and the red notices issued so [It is] a very, very positive development and encouraging and hopefully it can be followed through with the extradition that can lead them back to the country,” said Singh.

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The notorious Gupta family has been at the heart of allegations into state capture in South Africa.

In 2017, a tranche of emails were released that provided an insight into the extent of their web.

The GuptaLeaks became international news, and exposed the incredible reach of the family.

It is not yet clear when they will be extradited to South Africa to face charges in a number of state capture cases.

In 2020, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) announced that it had asked Interpol for help in locating the scions of the family implicated in the biggest political scandal of the democratic era.