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Gupta brothers (Ajay, Atul and Rajesh)


Displaying 71-80 out of 98 results.

A week of defeats for Zuma

On 3 November he withdrew his application to oppose an urgent injunction calling for the release of a detailed report by former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela into the legality and constitutionality of business and personal relations between the Gupta family and the Presidency...

• The Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's full report on the Gupta family and President Zuma is available here:http://www...


Stalwarts push for Zuma's exit

Gordhan now takes the lead role in her fight: their common target is the relationship between Zuma and the Gupta family...

Before leaving her job Madonsela completed a lengthy investigation into claims that Zuma's ties to the Guptas amounted to undermining the state institutions...

Also on 14 October Gordhan filed an affidavit with the Pretoria High Court that some US$480 million of transactions by the Guptas had broken the country's financial regulations (AC Vol 57 No 1 Guptas' export drive1)...

He wants the Court to issue an order declaring that he cannot interfere with the decision by commercial banks to close down the accounts of the Guptas' holding company Oakbay Investments...

How all this plays out will depend on what happens to Madonsela's and Gordhan's reports on the political influence of the Guptas...

Madonsela's report was compiled after lengthy interviews with high-level whistle-blowers including senior government officials who accused the Gupta family of choosing cabinet ministers who would weaken the Treasury's fiscal controls...

Since Zuma and the Guptas attempted to appoint a compliant Finance Minister last December pressure has mounted to push through a massive nuclear deal widely deemed unaffordable and to secure coal and uranium supplies for the Guptas' companies to supply state entities (AC Vol 57 No 4 Zupta Inc...

Gordhan's court application on 14 October argues that he could not interfere with the banks' decision to suspend the Guptas' accounts because to do so could have exposed the banks to fines for contravening laws on transparency and combatting money-laundering organised crime and terrorism...

Between February and April there was a flurry of activity among some 70 accounts belonging to the Guptas their friends and associates...

) relate to the Optimum Coal mine in Mpumalanga which was sold to the state-run electricity utility Eskom and then to the Guptas once its price had collapsed...

By citing the banks as respondents in the case Gordhan's application has also enabled the commercial banks the central bank and financial authorities to release details of the transactions carried out by the Guptas' company Oakbay whose CEO Nazeem Howa resigned on 17 October...

During the investors' meeting which was held under Chatham House rules to protect the identities of those present the ANC veteran explained in detail how the Gupta brothers had benefited from taking over some state decision-making in return for propping up Zuma and his family...

He predicted that Zuma would go to any lengths necessary to block the report by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela on the Guptas' financial transactions (AC Vol 57 No 4 Zupta Inc...


Zuma largesse under fire

The list retained three of Zuma's inner circle who are linked to the influential Gupta family (AC Vol 57 No 4 Zupta Inc...

We hear this will include new details of the extent of Zuma's patronage network and new information about the presidency's relations with the Gupta family...


The big rand short

Although the ANC National Executive abandoned its investigation into companies accused of trying to capture the state – Zuma's friends the Gupta family had headed the list – some of the President's political foes continue to accuse the family's companies of abuses...


Guptas' export drive

Regulators have begun inquiries into whether or not the three Gupta brothers Ajay Atul and Rajesh exported large sums of money to Dubai where they are now believed to be mainly resident we hear (AC Vol 57 No 8 Guptas fly out)...

Several Zuma family members co-own businesses with the Guptas or work in their companies...

The relationship between the Guptas and the Zuma family is one reason political insiders are saying that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan who is ultimately responsible for the Treasury is under so much pressure from the the Hawks the elite investigation department of the South African Police Service...


A charter for trouble

He is also close to the well known Gupta family whose contracts with government and state-owned entities are under scrutiny...

In March 2013 Zwane signed a letter allowing the Guptas to land their private jet at the Waterkloof military air base...

He also accompanied the Guptas to Switzerland to negotiate the sale of a Glencore mine Optimum Coal (AC Vol 57 No 4 Zupta Inc...

A senior official at the National Union of Mineworkers told AC they had little trust in the Minister as 'he is too focused on helping the Guptas get mines...

' The opposition Economic Freedom Fighters and the Democratic Alliance have questioned the cabinet's appointment of Zwane alongside Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan to 'interact' with the big four banks in South Africa over their decision to cut ties with Oakbay Investments the holding company of various Gupta family businesses (AC Vol 57 No 8 Guptas fly out)...


Guptas fly out

The Gupta family has flown out of South Africa and relinquished all posts in their companies despite strenuous denials that they were leaving for good...

Brothers Ajay and Atul Gupta quietly departed from Lanseria Airport on 7 April City Press and other local media reported along with 'enough luggage for 20 people'...

London solicitors Schillings acting for the Guptas wrote to Africa Confidential on 4 March after we reported that the family was planning to leave South Africa saying 'The supposed "facts" upon which this Article is based are fundamentally incorrect and as such the allegations contained therein are entirely false and misleading...

' It went on to state 'such Allegations are grossly defamatory of our clients and are categorically denied' before demanding we withdraw the story publish an apology and pay all the Guptas' legal costs...


Night of the generals

Then the group declared its support for Mcebisi Jonas who said that the Gupta family had offered him the post of Finance Minister before Zuma sacked Nene (AC Vol 55 No 11 A loyalist cabinet and Vol 57 No 4 Zupta Inc...

Both Shaik and Njenje split with Zuma after they had tried to block what they saw as the Gupta family's growing power...

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Gordhan and Zuma slug it out

The pressure on him continued with two more revelations in the saga of his relations with the wealthy Gupta family...

On 16 March former ANC MP and public enterprises committee chairwoman Vytjie Mentor claimed in a Facebook post that the Guptas had offered her the job of Public Enterprises Minister so long as she obtained the South Africa-India air route for them...

She later deleted the message and the Guptas categorically denied any meeting with her had ever taken place...

Earlier London's Financial Times reported that two weeks before Zuma sacked Gordhan's successor and predecessor as Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene on 9 December the Guptas had had a meeting with Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas and offered him Nene's job...


Trial of strength at the top

He also fired a shot across the President's bows by snubbing media owned by Zuma's allies in the Gupta family (see Pointer Guptas 'to leave SA')...

This is a veiled reference to the Guptas and others of Zuma's allies in positions of prominence...

Gordhan offers the most serious challenge yet to Zuma's steady replacement over the past 15 months of top officials and ministers with lesser-known loyalists often with links to the powerful Gupta family...


Displaying 71-80 out of 98 results.