Two Indian-born brothers alleged of state capture in South Africa may soon be extradited after their arrest in the United Arab Emirates.
The Gupta brothers have been alleged of masterminding a litany of corruption cases in South Africa with their arrest seen as a major development in Cyril Ramaphosa’s fight against graft.
Dubai Police on Tuesday revealed they had arrested Atul and Rajesh Gupta after a red notice from Interpol and had begun talks with Pretoria for their extradition.
According to the Emirati news agency, the brothers had been arrested since the 2nd of June.
The Gupta brothers are notorious in South Africa for heavy corruption and state capture backed by recent governments. The business tycoons, in their 50s, are known in the country to influence government policies, appointments and key decisions.
It’s reported in South Africa that billions of dollars have been lost to capital flight and state corruption.
The Gupta brothers came to South Africa about three decades ago and built a business empire which cut across technology, media and mining.
They had fled the country when the investigation into influence and activities was opened by Ramaphosa’s government. Their reach and proceeds from corrupt dealings were found to be as high as $3.2bn.
Another of the Guptas, Ajay is also enmeshed in corruption cases at the moment, although he hasn’t been indicted in his brothers’ case.
