DA asks for full copy of Gupta extradition application

17 April 2023

The DA will be writing to the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Adv. Shamila Batohi to request a full copy of the application made to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) requesting the extradition of Atul and Rajesh Gupta.

The UAE has asserted that the extradition request concerning the charge of fraud against the Guptas was required to be accompanied by a copy of the arrest warrant order, as per the extradition agreement between the UAE and South Africa. The UAE’s justice ministry has now asserted that the submitted documents were attached with a cancelled arrest warrant order, thereby failing to meet the extradition request conditions. It therefore appears that the Guptas were released on a technicality that could have been avoided.

The Minister of Justice has subsequently asserted that the dismissal of the extradition application was based on ‘technicalities’ that would have been addressed had the state been provided with the opportunity.

The DA will be requesting the full disclosure of all submitted documents so as to determine the veracity of these allegations. We will also be seeking to understand why communication between the UAE authorities broke down to the point that the outcome of the extradition application was only communicated via a diplomatic note almost two months after the hearing took place on 13 February 2023.

The failure of the South African government to hold the chief perpetrators of State Capture accountable is becoming increasingly glaring. Those who have failed to diligently perform their duties in bringing the Gupta’s to justice must be held to account.

Issued by Glynnis Breytenbach, DA Shadow Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, 17 April 2023