It’s bombshell story after bombshell story this week in South Africa, last night the department of justice confirmed that the Gupta brothers Atul and Rajesh have been arrested in Dubai in connection with fraud and money-laundering charges.
The brothers were finally arrested after Interpol first issued a red notice for them over four months ago. Rajesh and Atul Gupta are wanted in connection with the R24.9 million Nulane Investment fraud and money laundering case, which will proceed in the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein in September.
But there are fears that the brothers will fight tooth and nail via endless litigation in Dubai courts and there is little promise of extradition to South Africa as we continue a delicate diplomatic song and dance with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In a statement released on Monday night, the SA department of justice said: “Discussions between various law enforcement agencies in the UAE and South Africa on the way forward are ongoing. The South African government will continue to cooperate with the UAE.”
There are no official charges against the Guptas at this point even though they are wanted in connection with the Nulane case and Jessica Bezuidenhout previously warned in Daily Maverick that any notion that the brothers could be brought back to SA to face lesser charges before ultimately being slapped with the big state capture case isn’t feasible.
Bezuidenhout wrote in May: “The Guptas can’t be brought home on lesser charges in the hope that the final case against them can be fine-turned once they land at OR Tambo International… This extradition application simply has to be the definitive case against the Guptas, one that says: ‘Here it is. State Capture’s ultimate, seminal case’.”
The family fled SA after former president Jacob Zuma lost power over the ANC and stepped down as state president while the Gupta clan had their looting and state capture laid bare in a series of news reporting via a data leak titled “Gupta Leaks.”
The Guptas are estimated to have extracted around R250 billion from state coffers, primarily through state-owned entities. Whether their arrest in Dubai will ultimately lead them to face charges for their role in State Capture remains to be seen.
One thing is for certain, the timing of this story is politically convenient for President Cyril Ramaphosa as some of the media focus will shift from the president regarding his “Farmgate saga” to keeping a close eye on whether the Gupta brothers will touch down at OR Tambo Airport any time soon.
Markets
“Inflationary fears in the US have raised expectations that the Fed will continue with aggressive rate hikes and have pushed US Treasury yields sharply higher,” comments TreasuryONE.
The Rand is trading weaker at R15.53/$ this morning while the local unit traded on the front foot yesterday as it outperformed most of its emerging market peers, touching the R15.30 level before closing at R15.43/$ last night.
Keep a look out for Stats SA’s release of our local Q2 GDP numbers later today.
Here’s a round-up of what we’re reading:
SA Business
Stats SA defends the quality of its unemployment data collection methods – EWN
‘Squeeze’ on local flights as Comair operations remain suspended – Fin24
Computicket pays R11.3 million fine for blocking smaller firms – EWN
Global Business
Elon Musk Says Twitter’s Lack of Info on Bots Breaches Merger Deal – Bloomberg
British Airways in UK ‘saddened’ by Comair’s suspension of local flights – Fin24
70 UK companies are testing a four-day work week from today – what you should know – BusinessTech
Markets
Economists project improved South African economy in 2022 first quarter – SABC
Asian Stocks Down as U.S. Treasury Yields Climb – Investing.com
Dow Futures Tick Lower After Positive Session – Investing.com
(Atul Gupta. Photo by Gallo Images/Financial Mail/Robert Tshabalala)
