NPA secures major State Capture win: Gupta associates and Free State officials face retrial

Daily Maverick

2 days ago

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court of Appeal has overturned the 2023 acquittals of Gupta lieutenant Iqbal Sharma, Gupta-linked executive Ronica Ragavan, and senior Free State government officials in the R24.9m Nulane fraud case. The court found multiple legal errors in the original trial and ordered a retrial before a new judge.
In a tough week, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has won a major State Capture milestone as a four-judge bench of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on Thursday, 12 June 2025, ordered that a new judge hear the Nulane State Capture case after an initial acquittal.
More than R280-million was squandered on the Vrede dairy case, which saw the Gupta family take over prime Free State land run by their henchmen from India, who then ran it into the ground as they knew little about agriculture and even less about dairy farming. This money was found to have been used to pay for the infamous Bollywood family wedding in Sun City in 2013.
In April 2023, Acting Judge Nompumelelo Gusha threw out the case against Nulane's Iqbal Sharma, Ronica Ragavan (representing a Gupta company) and various Free State officials.
'The SCA judgment confirms our view that the acting judge (Nompumelelo Gusha) misdirected herself in applying the relevant principles with regard to the case and erred in her strong criticism of the prosecution team,' said the NPA.
Andrea Johnson's Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) will reinstate the case, one of the first significant acts of State Capture by the Gupta family and their associate, former trade official Sharma. The Commission of Inquiry into State Capture heard that poor black farmers were deprived of up to R280-million in the Vrede dairy farm case.
The Investigating Directorate Against Corruption charged Sharma, Ragavan (representing the Gupta company Islandsite Investment One Hundred and Eighty [Pty] Ltd), as well as Free State government officials, Mbana Peter Thabethe, Limakatso Moorosi, Seipati Silvia Dhlamini and Dinesh Patel (Sharma's brother-in-law). Thabethe, Moorosi and Dhlamini were senior Free State Agriculture and Land Reform Department officials.
While Ace Magashule was premier at the time, he was not charged with this case but with other charges. Because of a separate judgment, the court ruled last week that the extradition of his secretary, Moroadi Cholota, was not legal, and his asbestos capture case has been pushed out to 2026.
The SCA ruled that the high court made multiple errors of law, including those related to the doctrine of common purpose, evidence rules, and an incorrect interpretation of Section 204 of the Criminal Procedure Act, among others. The SCA said the accused may be retried on the exact charges before a different judge as if they had not been tried or acquitted.
The Nulane accused face charges related to fraud, money laundering and contravention of the Public Finance Management Act with the first part of the contract. This was a scoping contract by Sharma's company Nulane, which paid R24.9-million. The State Capture commission heard that Sharma subcontracted this work to Deloitte for R1.5-million.
In 2024, Daily Maverick reported here that the black farmers who had been deprived of their rights at the Vrede farm had received a R1,300 gift card and a 5kg meat hamper from the new farm owners, which has since reverted to state ownership.
'This judgment paves the way for the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption to reinstate the case within a reasonable period. The NPA remains resolute in its stance of effectively prosecuting and holding accountable those responsible for State Capture-related corruption,' said the NPA, which is under fire for slow progress.
However, the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption has enrolled 50 State Capture cases and declared 133 investigations. It also works with the Asset Forfeiture Unit, run by Ouma Rabaji-Rasethaba, to obtain R14.3-billion worth of asset seizures through freezing and preservation orders. DM