Guptas to respond to Gordhan’s bank affidavit on Friday

The Gupta family will on Friday morning file responding court papers at the High Court in Pretoria to prove their innocence in response to a 2016 application by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.

Gupta lawyer Gert van der Merwe said the family intends proving what they claim is a smear campaign against them and their businesses.

The papers are in response to an explosive affidavit submitted by Gordhan in 2016‚ saying that he couldn’t intervene in the decisions by the banks to stop doing business with the family.

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“We did well in finalising the documents and I have full confidence in our team and I think we will be in a position to file in accordance with the director of the deputy judge president‚” van der Merwe said.

Earlier this year‚ he told the SABC that: “I think it will be safe to say that the version will be that this application was never necessary to be issued and it was never necessary to have the relief sought confirmed by court because there is no dispute about what the minister asks the court to back up by way of a court order.”

He said there was an ulterior motive which they intend to deal with.

On October 14 last year‚ Gordhan filed court papers that contained details about “suspicious” bank transactions by Gupta-owned companies totalling almost R6.8-billion‚ which may have contributed to banks closing accounts belonging to the Gupta’s.

The suspicious payments‚ apparently made over four years‚ are listed in a Financial Intelligence Centre report that is attached to the court papers.

ABSA‚ Nedbank‚ FNB and Standard Bank closed the Guptas’ accounts. – TMG Digital