The United Arab Emirates is weighing extraditing two members of the Gupta family who are wanted in South Africa, where they stand accused of looting billions of dollars from the state.
Rajesh and Atul Gupta were detained by UAE law-enforcement authorities and discussions are taking place on the way forward, South Africa’s Justice Ministry said in a statement on Monday. Since the alleged crime was in South Africa, authorities in the Gulf country are weighing extraditing the brothers, according to people familiar with the matter. No decision has been made yet, they said, declining to be identified because they weren’t authorized to talk to the media.
A judicial inquiry into state graft spanning more than three years detailed close links between the brothers and former President Jacob Zuma, with numerous witnesses alleging that they worked hand-in-hand to siphon money out of state transport, power and arms companies and jointly decided who was appointed to the cabinet. The government has said at least 500 billion rand ($32 billion) was stolen during Zuma’s nine-year rule.
The Gupta brothers and Zuma have always denied the allegations.
The arrests come a year after the UAE ratified an extradition treaty with South Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration first asked the Emirati authorities to extradite members of the Gupta family in 2018, and the US imposed restrictions ranging from visa bans to asset freezes on them the following year. The UK followed suit last year and Interpol placed the two brothers on its most-wanted list in February.
