UAE court dismisses South Africa's request to extradite corruption-accused Gupta brothers

South Africa's request to extradite the fugitive Gupta brothers has been rejected by a United Arab Emirates court, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola informed on Friday. The two brothers named Atul and Rajesh Gupta were arrested in the UAE last year and face charges of political corruption involving former South African president Jacob Zuma.

Lamola in a statement noted that the South African government received diplomatic communication from the UAE side on Thursday, a little less than a month after extradition hearings had already concluded.

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"In the evening of the 6th of April 2023, we were provided with a note verbale from the UAE in which we learnt with shock and dismay that an extradition hearing had been concluded in the UAE courts on the 13th of February 2023 and our extradition request was unsuccessful,"

The UAE court noted it had the jurisdiction to prosecute the Guptas for money laundering offences that were carried out in the Arab country as well as South Africa.

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"The reasons provided for denying our request are inexplicable and fly in the face of the assurances given by Emirati authorities that our requests meet their requirements," said Lamola

He added that South Africa will 'promptly appeal' the decision and seek extradition as soon as possible.

"That is the life we have been living with the authorities in the UAE.We still intend to engage our counterparts... to ensure that the decision of the court is promptly appealed."

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Zumas + Guptas = Zuptas

The Gupta brothers have been accused of building a huge business empire in myriad fields such as media, mining andcomputer equipment - primarily due to the help of Zuma who also helped siphon off state assets from South Africa.

In 1993, Atul founded Sahara Computers, the family's first business in South Africa. Based on JSE-listed holdings, Atul Gupta became the seventh-wealthiest person in South Africa in 2016, with an estimated net worth of R10.7 billion (US$773.47 million).

However, over the years, the Zumas and the Guptas forged such close relationsthat a joint term was coined for them - the "Zuptas".

Throughout Zuma's nine-year tenure, the Guptas plundered South Africa - the continent's most advanced economy. According to reports, Gupta's cauldron of corruption may have cost the South African exchequer as much as $3.2 billion.

(With inputs from agencies)

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