South Africa’s Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Mr Ronald Lamola, has said the application to extradite the Gupta brothers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been unsuccessful.
Lamola made the remarks during a Zoom presser this Friday.
South Africa applied last year to have Rajesh and Atul Gupta extradited from UAE, where they were arrested, to face the allegations against them in South Africa.
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.
They have not been formally charged in a South African court, but have been sought by prosecutors over the allegations.
Dubai’s police last year arrested the Guptas, who face potential criminal charges in South Africa including money laundering, after receiving an Interpol red notice. The Interpol red notice is a request to law enforcement officials worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition.
Following the arrest, the UAE Ministry of Justice said the extradition request between the authorities in the UAE and South Africa was under procedure and further information would be made available in due course.
The UAE ratified an extradition treaty with South Africa in April 2021, a move South African officials had hoped would help bring the Guptas back to face charges. But the Justice Department in South Africa has now reported that its application to extradite the Gupta brothers was unsuccessful.