Gupta family
[19][20] The family was based at the Sahara Estate in Saxonwold, Johannesburg, a compound comprising at least four mansions,[6] until 2016 when they left South Africa for Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
"[9] Multiple Members of Parliament and ministers have stated that they were offered government positions by, or on behalf of, the Gupta family, in return for beneficial commercial decisions once appointed.
[24][25][26][27] In 2017, it was discovered that British PR company Bell Pottinger, acting on behalf of Gupta-owned Oakbay Investments, had deliberately manipulated and inflamed racial tensions, stirred up racial hatred, and made accusations of "white monopoly capital,"[12] using a large number of fake Twitter and other accounts online, as part of a campaign to portray Oakbay and those connected to it as victims, apparently intended to deflect corruption claims.
[30] The family has operated a number of companies in different industries, including information and communications technology, mining, engineering, media, real estate, and leisure.
[35] On 8 September 2016, Oakbay Investments released their annual audited results: for the financial year ending on 29 February 2016, the company's group revenue totaled R2.62 billion.
[51] In May 2016, ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe said that it would be a "fruitless" exercise for the party to continue to investigate allegations of state capture against the Gupta family as they had only received one written submission on the matter.
[52] A spokesman for the ‘Hawks’, serious-crime investigative unit set up by the Zuma administration, stated that reports of corruption charges being filed against three ministers and the Gupta family were "baseless.
The portmanteau—a combination of "Z" from "Zuma" and the "upta" from "Gupta"—was first coined by the Economic Freedom Fighters at the 2016 South African presidential State of the Nation Address when they disrupted the event by repeatedly chanting "Zupta must fall" to express their dissatisfaction with this relationship.
[56][57] On 30 April 2013, an Airbus A330-200 chartered aircraft run by Jet Airways carrying 217 guests[58] from India was cleared to land at the South African Air Force base at Waterkloof for the wedding ceremony of Vega Gupta to Aakash Jahajgarhia at Sun City, North West.
[61] The family apologised for the incident, stating that they had applied for special permission to land as a number of the guests were Indian government ministers and that it was promoting tourism to South Africa.
[9] In 2017, it was revealed that the wedding was paid for by funds, laundered through Dubai, and granted to a Gupta-linked company by the Free State Province government, purportedly as part of the Vrede Dairy Project.
[63] The Hawks unit of South Africa's Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) raided the offices of Ace Magashule, the Premier of the Free State, in connection with the project.
[49][70] Following a formal complaint submitted in March 2016 by a Catholic priest, Father Stanslaus Muyebe,[71] the Gupta's alleged influence became the subject of an investigation into "state capture" by outgoing Public Protector Thuli Madonsela.
President Zuma and Minister Des van Rooyen applied for an interdict to prevent the publication of the report on 14 October 2016, Madonsela's last day in office.
[90] The family is alleged by the Rand Daily Mail to have worked closely with Zuma to secure interests in South Africa's nuclear energy sector.
[92][93][94][95][96] Nene was briefly replaced with the little known David van Rooyen before public criticism, and a sharp decline in the South African Rand and stock market led to Zuma re-appointing former minister of finance Pravin Gordhan to the position instead.
The official opposition, Democratic Alliance have alleged that the establishment of the joint venture is illegal as certain provisions of the Public Finance Management Act have not been complied with.
[111][112] The international news broadcaster Al Jazeera English has alleged that Zuma's close relationship with the Guptas has "translated into friendly coverage in the outlets they own,"[113] specifically ANN7 and The New Age.
In 2022 the Zondo Commission found that the awarding of government tenders and state owned enterprise advertising contracts to The New Age defied both "logic and legal requirements.
This followed a Sunday Times[137] article that claimed that the Gupta family and President Zuma worked with the firm to incite racial tensions using bots and sockpuppets on social media in an effort to manipulate public opinion.
[138] Bell Pottinger went into administration (bankruptcy) in September 2017, as a consequence of the scandal resulting from activities undertaken by the firm on behalf of the Guptas, particularly its role in inflaming racial tension in South Africa.
Targets included The Huffington Post, Sunday Times, Radio 702, and City Press in addition to individuals such as Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan who was seen as blocking Gupta attempts at state capture.
[21] Julius Malema of the EFF, claimed that president Zuma illegally took out R6 billion (US$400 million) of the Gupta's money for them from South Africa when he visited the United Arab Emirates in March 2016.
[160][161] Following the dismissal of Gordan as Minister of Finance in April 2017, anti-Zuma protests were held across South Africa, including in front of the Gupta estate in Johannesburg.
[162] In October 2016, the South African Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan stated in court documents that the Guptas were implicated in "suspicious transactions worth R6.8 billion".
The documents stated that South African banks were alarmed by the financial dealings of 14 Gupta-owned businesses and discontinued services to the family to avoid possible legal implications.
[170] On 4 September 2017 the Bank of Baroda was fined R11 million (equivalent to US$837,000) by the South Africa Financial Intelligence Centre for flouting anti-corruption laws in transactions on accounts owned by the Gupta family.
[170] In October 2017, it was reported that the FBI had opened an investigation into Gupta nephews Ashish and Amol, who are US citizens, resident in Texas, as a result of payments received from a Gupta-linked company in the United Arab Emirates.
In 2022 the Zondo Commission found that multiple government ministers, senior ANC members, and the heads of state owned enterprises engaged in corrupt acts in support of the Gupta family.
The commission specifically noted former Minister for Public Enterprises, Malusi Gigaba[115] and the former head of Transnet, Brian Molefe,[114] as engaging in wrongdoing on behalf of the family.
