After two of the three Gupta brothers were arrested in connection with a suicide in Uttarakhand, South Africa has announced its intention to communicate with the Indian government regarding the arrest of two Gupta brothers in India. One of these brothers is sought in South Africa for allegedly embezzling billions from state-owned enterprises. The arrest, which took place on Saturday, followed a report indicating that the brothers were named in the suicide note of Satinder Singh Sawhney, a well-known builder from Uttarakhand.
However, it is unclear if this is the same Ajay Gupta who, along with his family, fled South Africa a few years ago.
The Gupta brothers—Atul, Ajay, and Rajesh—are accused of embezzling billions of rands in South Africa through their close ties with former President Jacob Zuma. The family moved to Dubai after Zuma was removed from office in 2018.
Ajay, the eldest of the three Gupta brothers, is considered the ringleader of the family’s corrupt and fraudulent activities in South Africa. His younger brothers, Atul and Rajesh, were detained in Dubai in 2022.
On Saturday, Ajay and his brother-in-law, Anil Gupta, were arrested in Uttarakhand.
In 2023, the UAE rejected South Africa’s request to extradite Rajesh and Atul, prompting South Africa to declare them fugitives. The brothers had established a large empire spanning the IT, media, and mining sectors.
Reports on Saturday revealed the arrest of Ajay Gupta and his brother-in-law Anil on charges of abetment of suicide. A prominent builder, Satinder Singh Sawhney, mentioned them in his suicide note before jumping off his multi-storey apartment building.
A court in Dehradun subsequently placed the two in 14-day judicial custody on charges of abetting the suicide of Satinder Singh, also known as Baba Sahni.
However, it remains unclear if Ajay Gupta is the same individual who fled South Africa with his brothers Atul and Rajesh, both of whom are also wanted by South African authorities.
South Africa initiates formal process to arrest Gupta brothers
Chrispin Phiri, spokesperson for South Africa’s Department of Justice, stated, “Justice and Correctional Services has noted reports of the arrest of two Gupta brothers, Ajay and Anil, in India. Our arrest warrants were for Rajesh and Atul Gupta. Nevertheless, formal processes are underway through the High Commissioner in India to verify and potentially engage.”
Officials clarified that although the reports identified the arrested individuals as “brothers,” the trio that fled South Africa consisted of Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh. Anil is believed to be their brother-in-law, married to their sister Achala.
During an African National Congress rally in Johannesburg on Saturday, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola acknowledged that the government is aware of the arrests in India.
However, he pointed out the uncertainty about whether the detained individuals are the ones sought by South African authorities.
Meanwhile, the Gupta brothers’ assets in South Africa have been frozen due to ongoing legal proceedings.
The Gupta brothers used as an excuse by rioters to target the Indian community in South Africa during ethnic conflict
While the Gupta brothers have been quite infamous in South Africa for years, they made the national headlines in India in 2021 during a horrifying spate of ethnic riots and violence in the African nation. It was reported that Indians were subjected to attack with the Gupta brothers being used as an excuse to target the Indian diaspora.
The Gupta brothers have become a symbol of corruption in South Africa. Interestingly, several allegations have surfaced over the years about the Gupta brothers and Jacob Zuma being hands in gloves in the corruption that was rampant during his Presidency, so much so, that South Africans coined the term “Zuptas” for them. Over the years, there have also been several protests where South Africans said that they do not accept the Gupta brothers as their “President”.
Bongi Ngema-Zuma, one of President Zuma’s wives, his daughter, Duduzile Zuma, and his son, Duduzane Zuma all worked in Gupta companies. The son, for example, was involved in several of the companies.
Zuma’s son is reported to be a director in many companies of the Gupta brothers, and thus Zuma was accused of granting undue favours to the Gupta brothers, piling personal fortunes for himself and his family. For example, there was one instance where the Bank of Baroda, through its South African operations, gave a loan to Jacob Zuma’s fourth wife to buy a house. The loan was paid by companies owned by the Gupta brothers.
Helping Zuma’s wife pay a housing loan is less of the charges levelled against the Gupta brothers. There have been reports that Guptas were so influential and powerful in South Africa owing to their proximity to the Zuma family, that they even used to offer posts in the central government to politicians (fixing cabinet berths a la Radia tape controversy back in India) apart from winning government contracts for themselves.
Gupta brothers and their alleged links to Congress – An OpIndia investigation
While investigating the links between Zuma and the Gupta brothers, South African investigative portals AmaBhungane and DailyMaverick stumbled upon his business relations with another controversial businessman called Piyoosh Goyal and in turn, Goyal’s business relations with Congress leader Kapil Sibal. Daily Maverick and AmaBhungane claim that the family of Kapil Sibal – the Congress leader, his wife Promila Sibal, and his son Akhil Sibal, who is also a lawyer – and families of Piyoosh Goyal and Gupta brothers took a chartered flight from Delhi to Mumbai to watch the final of the 2011 Cricket World Cup between India and Sri Lanka, a charge which was summarily denied by Kapil Sibal and his son.
An independent investigation by OpIndia showed that Kapil Sibal had acquired a defunct company from Piyoosh Goyal and an expensive piece of land for a nominal rate and the business dealings between the two were a little opaque. Following our investigation, his refusal to answer our questions and his subsequent u-turn from what he had told the South African journalists, Sibal threatened to sue OpIndia.
