Arrested in the UAE in 2022, the Guptas are accused of siphoning state funds by using connections to ex-President Zuma.
A court in the United Arab Emirates has rejected South Africa’s request to extradite Atul and Rajesh Gupta, brothers accused of political corruption, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said on Friday.
Arrested in the UAE in June 2022, the Indian brothers are accused of using their connections with Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s president from 2009 to 2018, to win contracts, influence cabinet appointments and siphon state funds. Zuma and the Guptas have denied all allegations.
South Africa received diplomatic communication from the UAE on April 6 that a court there had made the decision on February 13, Lamola said.
“On the evening of April 6, 2023, we received a verbal note from the UAE informing us with shock and dismay that an extradition hearing had been completed in the UAE courts on February 13, 2023 and our extradition request was unsuccessful,” Lamola told reporters .
The court had ruled that the UAE had jurisdiction to prosecute the Guptas for money laundering offenses allegedly committed in the UAE and South Africa, Lamola said.
He added that South Africa would “immediately appeal” the decision.
Cathleen Powell, an associate professor of public law at the University of Cape Town, told Al Jazeera there is frustration in the country at how slow the extradition process and “recovering what has been lost” has been due to the daily impact of corruption in South Africa. .
“There will be a lot of anger that the UAE has refused to extradite the Guptas and a lot of that anger will be directed at South Africa. [authorities] instead of the UAE,” she said on Friday.
An inquiry was launched in 2018 to investigate allegations of corruption during Zuma’s nine years in power from 2009, which was peppered with scandals that overshadowed his presidency.
In July 2021, Interpol issued a Red Notice to the Guptas, a global alert that allows law enforcement to serve, arrest and detain a person wanted for prosecution or a custodial sentence pending extradition.
Interpol said they were wanted in connection with a R25 million ($1.6 million) contract paid to a Gupta-affiliated company, Nulane Investment, to conduct an agriculture feasibility study.