South Africa’s governing party, ANC, on Tuesday, called for the swift extradition of Rajesh and Atul Gupta to face the allegations against them in South Africa after they were arrested in the United Arab Emirates, Reuters reports.
The Gupta brothers are accused of using their connections to former South African President Jacob Zuma, in power from 2009 to 2018, to win contracts, siphon off state funds and influence cabinet appointments.
Zuma and the Guptas, who left South Africa shortly after Zuma was ousted in 2018, have issued blanket denials of any wrongdoing.
The African National Congress (ANC) said in a statement:
We call on law enforcement authorities in South Africa and the UAE to expedite the extradition of Messrs Gupta to South Africa so that the charges against them can be adjudicated by a court of law.
They have not been formally charged in a South African court, but have been sought by prosecutors over the allegations.
Dubai’s police said on Twitter that it had arrested the Guptas, who face potential criminal charges in South Africa including money laundering, after receiving an Interpol red notice, a request to law enforcement officials worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition. The UAE Ministry of Justice said in a statement carried on state media on Tuesday:
The extradition request between the authorities in the UAE and South Africa is under the procedure and further information will be made available in due course.
The UAE ratified an extradition treaty with South Africa in April last year, a move South African officials had hoped would help bring the Guptas back to face charges.