Gupta red notice still active, says justice minister Ronald Lamola

Interpol’s red notices attached to the Gupta brothers Rajesh and Atul, which will pave the way for their arrest to face fraud and money laundering charges in South Africa, are still active.  

This was confirmed by justice minister Ronald Lamola on Thursday.  

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of Namibian President Hage Geingob's state visit to South Africa at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Thursday, Lamola assured the nation that by next week the government will be in a position to inform the nation on a way forward on the matter.  

“The key message for now is that the red notice is still active so nothing has changed with regards to that. We have clarified with Interpol and we know that it is still active,” said Lamola.  

A red notice is issued when a member country seeks help to locate and arrest an individual with the aim of having them extradited to face a criminal charge.   

TimesLIVE reported recently that the brothers had been spotted in Switzerland. 

A report by Bloomberg said the two were seen there in late March, despite the latest reports from the UAE that the brothers have been in custody there since a failed bail bid in July 2022.

Bloomberg attributed the Gupta sighting to online publication Africa Intelligence. 

On April 7, Lamola announced South Africa's extradition request for the Gupta brothers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had been dismissed on a technicality.

However, he told the media on Thursday that he has been in contact with the minister of home affairs Aaron Motsoaledi about the Gupta brothers' passports.  

“You will remember there was a point where we went to court with regards to the issue of the passports.  

“The reality is that if someone has committed a crime in South Africa, it does not matter where they come from, they still need to be tried here in South Africa.  

“If the requested country does not want them to be tried in your country, like the UAE on the issue of money laundering, they should tell us whether they are prosecuting them in the UAE and from where we are there is nothing in that regard.  

“When we have concretised on that aspect, we will be able to inform that this is a way forward, including the issues that the minister of home affairs has raised.”  

TimesLIVE