South African Justice Minister Ronald Lamola on Friday said the government’s request to extradite Atul and Rajesh Gupta has been rejected by a court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), reported Africa News.
The Indian-origin Gupta brothers, who were arrested in the UAE in June 2022, are accused of using their connections with the South African President from 2009 to 2018, Mr. Jacob Zuma, to get contracts, influence cabinet appointments and siphon off state funds. Zuma as well as the Gupta brothers have denied all the accusations.
The brothers left South Africa after Zuma was forced to step down as president in February 2018 after claims of corruption sparked protests and call for his resignation. A judicial inquiry that was set up in 2018 to investigate corruption allegations during Zuma’s presidential term has recommended criminal charges against the Gupta brothers.
The South African government had filed the extradition request in July last year after the two were arrested in Dubai in June. The arrests followed the signing of an extradition treaty between South Africa and the UAE governments.
Justice Minister Lamola said South Africa was informed about the cancellation of the extradite request on April 6 after a UAE court made the decision on February 13.
“In the evening of the 6th of April 2023, we were provided with a note verbale from the UAE in which we learned 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 minister told reporters.
According to Lamola, the UAE court ruled that the arrest warrant on the fraud and corruption charges had been canceled. He said the reasons given for the rejection of the application were inexplicable.
He said that the South African is going to appeal the court’s decision.
