Long Process to Extradite India-Born Gupta Brothers to South Africa Moves One Step Closer
New Delhi – South Africa’s state prosecutions agency, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), has issued a press statement giving an update on its continuing efforts to extradite two of the three fugitive Gupta brothers.
The agency confirmed that they submitted a formal extradition application to the Central Authority in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It said this was done within the 60-day period from the date Dubai Police arrested the brothers Atul Kumar and Rajesh Kumar Gupta. Submission of an extradition request within two months of arrest is a requirement in the Extradition Treaty between South Africa and the UAE signed over a year ago.
The application, submitted by South Africa in both English and Arabic, addresses the general requirements for extradition, which, if met, would allow the extradition to be granted under either the existing Extradition Treaty or the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) or both.
In its statement, the NPA said, “The NPA team, in close collaboration with the office of the CA, worked relentlessly and focused on complying with legal requirements of the Extradition Treaty and UNCAC. Political Considerations regarding the extradition process were fully left in the hands of our partners in the Ministry of Justice and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO).”
The agency, however, made it clear that the extradition of the two Gupta brothers could still take months.
“As this process unfolds, and the extradition application is heard in UAE courts, the NPA will continue to collaborate and support its counterparts in the UAE to ensure that the Gupta brothers are extradited to face justice in South Africa. Whereas this process could take several months, as the NPA, we will continue with our commitment to deliver for impact. The country demands this of us, and we are ready to keep moving to bring justice.”
In a separate statement, South Africa’s Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services said, “On 18 July 2022, a request was received from the National Director of Public Prosecutions for the extradition of the Gupta Brothers from the United Arab Emirates to the Republic of South Africa to stand trial on charges of Fraud, Money Laundering in terms of Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 1998 and Corruption contrary of the Prevention and Combating Of Corrupt Activities Act. The request is made in accordance with the Extradition Treaty between South Africa and the UAE as well as the UnitedNation Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) which is a multilateral international convention to which both countries are Member States. We can confirm that the extradition request has been duly submitted to the UAE central authority.”
South Africa is seeking the extradition of brothers Atul and Rajesh Kumar Gupta in two criminal matters. The First matter is already before the High Court of South Africa, Free State Division, Bloemfontein, in which a provisional trial date has been set for January 2023.
In the other matter, the two Gupta brothers have already been charged, and warrants were issued against them.
The three Gupta brothers, Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh, are accused of embezzling billions of dollars before fleeing to the UAE in 2018. While the youngest Rajesh and Atul are in detention in the UAE, the eldest Atul Gupta is accused of corruption and embezzlement in other matters.
The brothers are charged with ‘State Capture’ by using their proximity with former president Jacob Zuma to illegally influence the appointment of ministers and formulation of policy and rig large government tenders to benefit their business interests and those of Zuma’s family members.
Rajesh Sundaram
Rajesh Sundaram is an author and journalist based in New Delhi. Has worked with media houses like Al Jazeera, NDTV, and the India Today Group for over 26 years. He was part of the leadership teams that launched 7 news stations in various languages. These include NewsX, an English language Indian national station, News Nation in Hindi, News7Tamil in Tamil, Lok Shahi in Marathi and ANN7 in South Africa. Rajesh is passionate about new and emerging technologies for digital and television news.
