ActionSA government could nab Gupta brothers in 6 months, says Mashaba

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba believes his party, if elected, could get corruption-accused Gupta brothers Rajesh and Atul to South Africa for prosecution within months.

The Guptas are accused of using political affiliations with former president Jacob Zuma and ministers to win tender contracts, influence cabinet appointments and steal state funds. For the past two years, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has been trying to get the Guptas back in South Africa to face criminal prosecution on a string of  fraud charges.

The government came close to a breakthrough in June 2022 when the brothers were arrested in Dubai, but its extradition request was rejected by the UAE, allegedly due to problems with paperwork.

Mashaba believes his party, if elected to government, could bring the Guptas back to SA.  

“This is an insult to the people of South Africa that we must accept that it would take five years to extradite the Guptas. Give ActionSA the vote in 2024. I can assure you that we will have the Guptas here in South Africa [in] under six months of our new government,” Mashaba said.  

The ANC government has not lost hope of securing the extradition, despite pressure from opposition parties.

In April, justice and correctional services minister Ronald Lamola said Interpol was still on the lookout for the Gupta brothers.  

“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,” Lamola told Sunday Times.   

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