Also feel like giving the Guptas the finger? Here’s how

04 November 2017 - 13:42
By Kyle Cowan
Atul  Gupta , Chairman and Managing Director of Sahara Holdings, Midrand. Pic: Robert Tshabalala.
Atul Gupta , Chairman and Managing Director of Sahara Holdings, Midrand. Pic: Robert Tshabalala.

Two complete strangers have banded together to help the man behind the ingenious plan to execute a series of trades in Oakbay shares which when mapped visually on a share chart gave the Gupta family a middle-finger salute.

For his trouble equities trader and hedge fund manager James Gubb was fined R100‚000 by the Financial Services Board (FSB).

"I got fined R100‚000 yesterday by the Financial Services Board for trading 22 shares at various prices on the now delisted Oakbay‚ the Gupta family’s financial vehicle‚ at the end of March this year‚ around the days of protest around the country. This was recommended by the JSE after an interrogation on 18 May in Cape Town by the JSE‚" Gubb said in a statement on Thursday.

Linzy Mothusi and Gareth Moll‚ who met in the comments section of a news article about Gubb's escapade‚ have decided to take a stand and support a cause they both feel strongly about.

“In a show of solidarity of the South African people against State Capture‚ Fraud and Corruption we are seeking to raise funds to pay the R100‚000.00 fine imposed on James Gubb by the Financial Services Board (FSB)‚” the Thundafund page reads.

As an added bonus‚ if you give R1‚000 or more‚ you will receive a t-shirt that states “I gave the Guptas the finger”. By Saturday morning‚ R14‚410 was raised.

“Given the negative implications and the impact that the Gupta family‚ and their friends in high places have had on South Africa‚ the economy as well as the implications on social-political unrest the family have created in our country‚ the pair feel that James Gubb's actions are well justified and deserve SA’s full support.”

The pair have agreed that should the fund succeed and raise more than the required amount‚ they will identify worthy causes “fighting to eradicate corruption”.

"What I have done is essentially a world first‚ ie used a financial information medium to create a recognisable image. Conceptual art‚ Protest Art‚ Indelible Graffiti‚ whatever you want to call it‚ I gave it a go to highlight the ongoing systematic rape of our country by the Gupta family. The fact that the image was that of a clenched fist with the middle finger extended might have offended some‚ but that was the point. We were asked by Pravin Gordhan to ‘by all means possible‚ stand fast in the face of brazen‚ blatant corruption’ which I did in my own way. I literally joined the dots‚” Gubb added.