The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation has taken the fight on the controversial release of the Guptas from prison to the embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The foundation on Thursday marched to the embassy’s Pretoria offices to hand over a memorandum, inquiring why the UAE government failed to comply with basic international protocols.
The protest comes after a court in the UAE declined SA’s extradition request based on technicality and released Rajesh Gupta and his brother Atul, who are accused of corruption running into billions of rands.
“We the people gathered here to do this because the SA government has not done so on our behalf," said the foundation’s executive director Neeshan Balton.
“We cannot accept that the government and the courts of the UAE tried the Gupta’s in secret, let them free on dubious grounds and failed to notify the SA government of this development in advance, only notified the SA authorities almost six weeks after the Guptas were let free.”
The foundation also accused the UAE government of having failed to provide information about the Gupta’s release in a South African language.
“The actions of the UAE government have resulted in people implicated in state capture in SA being let free,” he said.
“They are now free to roam the world and continue what they started here in other parts of the world. This is a family that has been sanctioned by the USA and UK governments. Their bank accounts were closed in SA and need to account for the devastation that they have caused to SA.
“The actions of the UAE government have made the task of bringing them to account for their actions more difficult than ever before.”
He, however, extended an olive branch to the UAE government, saying it was not too late for it to show remorse for its actions.
“It can immediately apologise for its actions, commit to working with the SA government and international agencies to finding and apprehending the Guptas, and close all businesses that are owned and operated by the Guptas in the UAE of Gupta accounts and transactions and freeze Gupta bank accounts and collaborating with SA enforcement agencies in the provision of information of Gupta accounts and transactions.
“The above are the least that [we] expect the UAE to consider if it wants to demonstrate any goodwill to the people of SA as they struggle for freedom from corruption, capture and state failure, all of which are in no small part due to the plundering corruption of the Gupta family and their many associates,” said Balton.
sibanyonim@sowetan.co.za
March to UAE embassy to demand clarity on the release of Guptas from jail
Kathrada foundation says Gulf state's action has made it even harder to make people pay for state capture crimes
Image: Supplied
The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation has taken the fight on the controversial release of the Guptas from prison to the embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The foundation on Thursday marched to the embassy’s Pretoria offices to hand over a memorandum, inquiring why the UAE government failed to comply with basic international protocols.
The protest comes after a court in the UAE declined SA’s extradition request based on technicality and released Rajesh Gupta and his brother Atul, who are accused of corruption running into billions of rands.
“We the people gathered here to do this because the SA government has not done so on our behalf," said the foundation’s executive director Neeshan Balton.
“We cannot accept that the government and the courts of the UAE tried the Gupta’s in secret, let them free on dubious grounds and failed to notify the SA government of this development in advance, only notified the SA authorities almost six weeks after the Guptas were let free.”
The foundation also accused the UAE government of having failed to provide information about the Gupta’s release in a South African language.
“The actions of the UAE government have resulted in people implicated in state capture in SA being let free,” he said.
“They are now free to roam the world and continue what they started here in other parts of the world. This is a family that has been sanctioned by the USA and UK governments. Their bank accounts were closed in SA and need to account for the devastation that they have caused to SA.
“The actions of the UAE government have made the task of bringing them to account for their actions more difficult than ever before.”
He, however, extended an olive branch to the UAE government, saying it was not too late for it to show remorse for its actions.
“It can immediately apologise for its actions, commit to working with the SA government and international agencies to finding and apprehending the Guptas, and close all businesses that are owned and operated by the Guptas in the UAE of Gupta accounts and transactions and freeze Gupta bank accounts and collaborating with SA enforcement agencies in the provision of information of Gupta accounts and transactions.
“The above are the least that [we] expect the UAE to consider if it wants to demonstrate any goodwill to the people of SA as they struggle for freedom from corruption, capture and state failure, all of which are in no small part due to the plundering corruption of the Gupta family and their many associates,” said Balton.
sibanyonim@sowetan.co.za
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