Latest news with #Gupta-linked
IOL News
25-07-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Withdrawal of CFO secondment for Free State official amid Gupta-linked fraud case
A senior Free State provincial government official has had her secondment as the acting chief financial officer of the troubled Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality withdrawn as she is facing fraud charges relating to a R25 million contract awarded to the Gupta-linked Nulane Investments by the province's Agriculture Department. Image: Twitter / @SAPoliceService The secondment of a senior Free State provincial government official among the accused in the R25 million fraud case involving Gupta-linked Nulane Investments as Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality acting chief financial officer (CFO) has been withdrawn. Free State Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) and Human Settlements MEC Saki Mokoena had initially seconded the department's deputy director-general responsible for its specialised support, advice, and intervention unit Seipati Silvia Dhlamini. Earlier this month, Mokoena seconded Dhlamini as the municipality has been without a CFO for months after the contract of Matholase Mazinyo expired in March and was not renewed. Free State Cogta and Human Settlements Department spokesperson, Zimasa Mbewu, said Mokoena has withdrawn the secondment of Dhlamini, and Thuso Ronald Marumo, formerly CFO of the Moqhaka Local Municipality in Kroonstad, has been seconded to be Maluti-A-Phofung acting CFO. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Dhlamini is accused number three in the Nulane matter and was the CFO of the provincial Agriculture Department when the company was awarded the R25m contract to conduct due diligence and feasibility studies into the R334m Vrede Diary Farm Project, part of the broader Mohoma Mobung Programme, run by Indian company Estina on behalf of the department. She has been charged with unlawfully and intentionally, and with common purpose, committing fraud. In April 2023, the Free State High Court withdrew charges against Dhlamini and her co-accused, but last month, the Supreme Court of Appeal ordered they be retried for the same offences they were acquitted of as if they had not previously been arraigned, tried, and acquitted but provided that a different judge presides over the trial. Dhlamini is charged with businessman Iqbal Sharma and his company Nulane Investments, former heads of the Free State Agriculture Department, Peter Thabethe and Limakatso Moorosi, Ronica Ragavan, who represented the fugitive Gupta family's Islandsite Investments, and Dinesh Patel, who is Sharma's brother-in-law and a Nulane Investments representative. During a council meeting in April, assets manager Tsietsi Moremi was appointed acting CFO for a period of three months or until a new permanent CFO was appointed, whichever came first. However, the following month, the council rescinded its resolution and delegated Malekula Melato, the controversial mayor of the troubled municipality, to request Mokoena to second a suitable person to act in the position until a suitable candidate has been appointed. Even before the rescission of Moremi's temporary appointment, in April, Maluti-a-Phofung Municipal Manager Advocate Motsoahae Mofokeng then informed staff in a directive that all the powers of the CFO were recalled and now in his office. 'This is informed by the fact that certain due diligence processes have to be carried out before (the) letter of appointment is dispatched. 'All managers in the finance department should thus report directly to the municipal manager's office forthwith until the said acting CFO receives an appointment letter,' Mofokeng wrote on April 4. In correspondence addressed to Melato dated July 10, Mokoena said he was only in a position to grant the request for a suitably skilled, competent, and qualified candidate in terms of Municipal System Amendment Act 03 of 2022, on such conditions as prescribed, to act in the advertised position until such time as a suitable candidate has been appointed. Mokoena set out a number of conditions including a process plan with timelines on filling of the vacant post of CFO and a provision that all additional cost associated with the secondment such as compensation of the seconded official, an allowance and compensation while on secondment for subsistence and travel etc. are borne by the municipality. Additionally, the secondment must be by agreement, which must stipulate the duration and party responsible for costs. 'The agreement must further include terms of reference, which outline that a person seconded must account to the municipal manager, report in writing at least once a month to the relevant seconding authority with regard to the key performance areas relevant to the position together with the development and implementation of any municipal institutional recovery plan for which the seconded official is responsible,' demanded Mokoena. He said he was seconding Dhlamini and requested Melato to engage Speaker Mandlenkosi Dlamini in order to convene a council meeting on the seconded candidate to allow council to consider the appointment of the seconded candidate and table the conditions for the position of CFO. Mokoena also asked the municipality to forward a signed council resolution in terms of Municipal System Amendment Act appointing the seconded candidates to act in the relevant position after the secondment. Melato was also asked to provide regular progress reports in writing to the relevant seconding authority with regard to the filling of the post and the development and implementation of any municipal institutional recovery plan for which the seconded official is responsible. Mofokeng did not respond to requests for comment.
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The Citizen
24-07-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Gupta's property in Saxonwold compound sold for R3.3m at auction [PICS]
The auction followed a six-week campaign of marketing and public viewings. Number 3 Saxonwold Drive, part of the Gupta compound, seen on 24 July 2025. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen One of three properties in Saxonwold, Johannesburg, linked to the Gupta family was successfully sold at auction on Thursday for R3.3 million. The public sale was part of an effort to recover funds from the family's confiscated estate. The homes are owned by Confident Concept, a Gupta-owned company currently under business rescue. The auction forms part of a larger effort to liquidate assets tied to the controversial family. Number 7 Saxonwold Drive, part of the Gupta compound, seen 24 July 2025. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen Auction at Gupta's Saxonwold compound According to Park Village Auctions, the auction followed a six-week campaign of marketing and public viewings. The property sold – listed as the third house – sits on Saxonwold Drive. It is a three-bedroom, single-storey home valued at R5.5 million, and it went under the hammer for R3.3 million. ALSO READ: Gupta-linked Saxonwold mansions head to auction after seven-year legal battle The sale is pending approval by the appointed business rescue practitioners (BRPs). The other two properties on offer did not attract successful bids. Property number five is an eight-bedroom, three-level mansion, while property number seven is a grand 17-bedroom residence, each with an en-suite bathroom. The indoor swimming pool at number 5 Saxonwold Drive, part of the Gupta compound, seen on 24 July 2025. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen Despite the lack of sale, movable assets inside the homes did draw bids. Items from the mansion brought in R100 000 and the contents of house number seven were bid at R60 000. These sales, like the real estate transaction, are also subject to confirmation. Watch the video below: Gupta Mansions. One 1 sold at auction, number 3 Saxonworld Drive valued at R5M selling for R3.3M#Gupta #StateCapture — Ntokozo Khumalo (@NtoksKhumalo) July 24, 2025 Municipal valuations Auctioneer Clive Lazarus weighed in on the results, saying while there was strong interest ahead of the auction, the properties' distinctive nature made it normal for such transactions to take longer to finalise. 'The municipal valuations and subsequent steep rates and taxes (up to R30 000 per month on a residential property) are obvious factors that would hinder the sale by auction,' Lazarus said. He said auctions represent only one element of a larger sales strategy, which was essential to ensure transparency in a case that has significant public interest. READ MORE: Batohi not worried about Omotoso's deportation as NPA plans to bring Gupta brothers back to SA 'The BRPs will likely make the properties available by private tender, leaving a little more room for buyers to investigate all potential avenues for their investment. 'It will also provide more anonymity for buyers. We will remain in discussions with the interested parties as we progress to the next phase. 'We are confident that we will realise these properties at realistic market rates,' he added. Number 5 Saxonwold Drive, part of the Gupta compound, seen on 24 July 2025. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen A bedroom at number 5 Saxonwold Drive, part of the Gupta compound, seen on 24 July 2025. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen Guptas flee SA The Saxonwold properties were deserted by the Gupta brothers – Atul, Rajesh and Ajay – when they fled South Africa for Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in 2018. Their departure came just before then-president Jacob Zuma was forced to step down by the ANC over his association with the family. These homes gained notoriety as locations where the Guptas allegedly hosted high-level politicians as part of efforts to exert undue influence on state affairs and secure government tenders. The trio is wanted by authorities in connection with several criminal investigations. Among the most prominent are the Nulane Investment fraud matter and the controversial Vrede Dairy Farm case. While a 2022 attempt to extradite Atul and Rajesh Gupta failed, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has reaffirmed its determination to bring the brothers back to South Africa to stand trial. NOW READ: Wanted in SA: New extradition request to get Gupta brothers back gains momentum
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Business Standard
24-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Lavish homes left by fleeing Gupta brothers up for sale in South Africa
South Africa is selling off three multimillion rand mansions owned by the Gupta brothers, a trio of influential Indian-born businessmen at the center of a corruption scandal that triggered the country's worst political and economic crisis since the end of Apartheid. Atul, Rajesh and Ajay Gupta began buying the properties in Thursday's auction in 2006. There, in Saxonwold, one of Johannesburg's oldest and most affluent neighborhoods, they entertained top politicians and businessmen for at least a decade. But as their public profile grew, so did allegations that they exerted undue influence over the state for their own enrichment. Protesters gathered regularly outside the compound's high walls and perimeter fences, demanding accountability. The brothers fled to Dubai shortly before the ruling African National Congress in 2018 forced Jacob Zuma to quit as president to stem a loss in electoral support, partly due to his links to the family. Their compound has been largely empty ever since. Protected by private armed guards, it became a symbol among opposition members and activists of the staggering levels of corruption in the country, and the challenges in holding those implicated in that corruption to account. President Cyril Ramaphosa has estimated that more than 500 billion rand ($28 billion) was plundered during his predecessor's near nine-year tenure and said that tackling graft — which has hobbled key institutions such as state power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. and freight rail and ports operator Transnet SOC Ltd — is a priority. But to date, no senior official has been successfully prosecuted in connection to it. During a Saturday viewing of the compound organized by the auction house, Park Village Auctions, traces of the lavish lifestyle the brothers led in Africa's richest city were on display: a Cartier jewelry catalog, a Royal Caribbean cruise brochure and a hand-written inventory of fine whiskeys and champagne. Elsewhere green water fills an indoor pool, and moss grows on water features and a mini cricket pitch. Deep cracks run through window panes. Paint and plaster are peeling off walls. And the thatched roof of an outdoor bar is in tatters. The neglect means that although the three properties — which have different title deeds and will be auctioned separately — have a combined municipal value of about 64 million rand, they're likely to sell at a 'bargain price,' according to auctioneer Clive Lazarus. Individual residences in the neighborhood can sell for as much as 20 million rand, he said. Proceeds from the sale will help settle claims by creditors since Confident Concept Pty Ltd., the Gupta-linked company that owns the properties, entered into a local form of bankruptcy protection in 2018. The auction had been held up because it was in litigation over financial distress and disputes about property development with local authorities. The compound's role as the epicenter in what became known as 'state capture' was highlighted during a probe led by former chief justice Raymond Zondo, which began in 2018 and implicated more than 1,400 persons and entities. His panel heard that the brothers held clandestine meetings in their homes, where many people were offered kickbacks to help the family and their associates influence government decision making and secure contracts. The Guptas and Zuma have denied any wrongdoing. Atul was the first of the brothers to arrive from India in South Africa in 1993, just as the country was transitioning to democracy. Dispatched to the continent in search of fortune by his father, a trader of spices and soapstone powders, he founded Sahara Computers Ltd., a year later. The company, an importer and distributor of Windows PCs, grew and his brothers joined him. A single introduction to a member of the new political elite paved the way for the Guptas to mingle in powerful circles. During the viewing of the mansions, a safe that appeared to be forced open, boxes of prescription medicine, as well as spices and cupboards piled high with dinnerware suggested the Guptas left South Africa in haste. Atul and Rajesh — who are wanted in South Africa on charges including money laundering and fraud, and sanctioned by both the US and UK government — were arrested in United Arab Emirates in 2022. That's after Interpol placed them on its most-wanted list. But a UAE court, in 2023, denied South Africa's plea to extradite the brothers and their arrest warrant was canceled. South Africa provisionally withdrew its arrest warrant for Ajay in 2019, according to Reuters. Spokespersons for the President and Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development referred questions, including about plans to extradite the fugitive brothers and prosecute others implicated in graft, to the National Prosecuting Authority. The Investigating Directorate Against Corruption, a unit of the National Prosecuting Authority, declined to answer questions. A fourth property in the compound still bears a 'SAHARA ESTATE' sign on the outer wall but it is not up for auction this week. It's registered to a separate company linked to the family, according to Deeds Office data. The three mansions in the auction are zoned for residential use. Should the new owners want to use them for something else, they'd have to apply for permits, which aren't guaranteed to be approved. For Lumkile Mondi, a senior economics lecturer at Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand, the auction is an important step but challenges lie ahead. 'The reality is that when corruption, fraud, and destruction happens, it doesn't only take place the top, it filters down to other levels,' he said. 'For many South Africans, the biggest impact has been on the supply of water, electricity and fixing of roads. To change that requires serious commitment and it's going to take a long, long time before we get things right.'
Daily Maverick
03-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Transnet extraction — where and how Gupta bribes were paid to Big Four accused
Former Transnet CEO Brian Molefe, CFO Anoj Singh, head of freight rail Siyabonga Gama and chief engineer Thamsanqa Jiyane face charges related to enrichment through corruption. The charge sheet in the largest quantum State Capture case, enrolled by the Independent Directorate Against Corruption (Idac), details a map of where bribes were paid to the four former Transnet executives now facing a quartet of charges related to their role in repurposing the rail utility for extraction worth billions of rands. Former Transnet CEO Brian Molefe, CFO Anoj Singh, head of freight rail Siyabonga Gama and chief engineer Thamsanqa Jiyane face charges related to enrichment through corruption. The four, out on bail of R50,000 each, face charges under four laws, including the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act. Idac alleges that the Gupta brothers, Atul, Rajesh and Ajay, paid the four in cash through deliveries, foreign trips and transactions via Gupta-linked entities and companies. While much of the detail was ventilated in proceedings at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, the charges add new legal heft. The State alleges that cash payments were made at: The Guptas' residence in Saxonwold; The Midrand offices of the family's IT company, Sahara; Salim Essa's Melrose Arch apartment and; The Maslow hotel in Sandton. In addition, Atul Gupta transferred funds from several Gupta-controlled companies, which facilitated the bribes, including Oakbay Investments, Westdawn Investments, VR Laser Services, Confident Concept, Tegeta Exploration and Islandsite Investments. Money flow experts, including Paul Holden of Open Secrets, testified to the commission about how the Guptas utilised layers of companies to launder money and facilitate transfer fees. Singh was enriched to the extent that, the commission heard, he did not spend his Transnet salary, but banked it for years. He was allegedly paid at Saxonwold and took many Gupta-sponsored trips to Dubai, to where the brothers and their families had fled. Molefe allegedly received cash at the Gupta residence and at Sahara Computers, where he would pop in for the family's office lunches. Gama was reportedly paid at the Guptas' Saxonwold residence and family acolyte Salim Essa's Melrose Arch apartment, while Jiyane was allegedly paid at The Maslow hotel. Investigators for the State Capture Commission triangulated travel times. They had witnesses who corroborated many of the payments, and this evidence will be used by Idac when the trial begins. The next court date is 6 October. Money trail The charge sheets detail the following bribe money trail against Singh, Molefe, Gama and Jiyane: Singh 'Between January 2014 and April 2015, Mr Singh had attended meetings at the Gupta Saxonwold residence on at least 10 occasions. [He] would generally take a sports bag with him when he attended the meetings. He would emerge from the residence carrying the sports bag, which would be placed in the boot of the vehicle driven by his Close Protection Officer (CPO). It was later discovered that the sports bags contained large amounts of cash. 'On at least six or seven occasions he would instruct his driver to take him to Knox Vaults, a secure storage facility in Killarney, Johannesburg that provided safe deposit boxes. He would thereafter remove the bag from the boot of the vehicle and enter Knox Vaults carrying the bag.' The charge sheet also details all of Singh's sponsored trips to Dubai. Molefe '[Molefe] would generally take a light brown backpack or sports bag with him when he attended meetings held at these venues. After the said meetings he would emerge carrying the aforementioned bags, which were placed inside the boot of the vehicle driven by his CPO. These CPOs later discovered that the bags contained large amounts of cash.' Gama The charge sheet says that Gama attended many meetings at Saxonwold. 'During November 2016, on one of the visits at the Gupta Saxonwold residence, a person emerged carrying a suitcase, which was placed into the boot of the vehicle, which was driven by his CPO. These CPOs later discovered that the suitcase contained a large amount of cash when Gama left the premises. The charge sheet also details how Gama twice picked up 'parcels' from Essa at Melrose Arch, while Jiyane allegedly took possession of the suitcase, which Gama is alleged to have collected at Saxonwold, at The Maslow hotel, where the two met. The State will argue that all four received unlawful gratification and committed fraud at Transnet, thereby violating the Companies Act and the Public Finance Management Act. The chart below shows Idac's progress on State Capture cases identified by the Zondo Commission. The National Prosecuting Authority's Asset Forfeiture Unit, under the leadership of Ouma Rabaji-Rasethaba, has recovered R15-billion in State Capture loot, some of which has been returned to Transnet. DM
Daily Maverick
01-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Former Transnet executives in court over multibillion-rand locomotive deal from 2011
Transnet's grand locomotive deal was meant to modernise South Africa's rail backbone. Instead, it opened a funding pipeline that flowed through Gupta-linked Trillian Capital Partners and followed Brian Molefe to Eskom. His most recent arrest shows how State Capture's roots still shadow the present. Transnet's grand locomotive deal was meant to modernise South Africa's rail backbone. Instead, it opened a funding pipeline that flowed through Gupta-linked Trillian Capital Partners and followed Brian Molefe all the way to Eskom. His most recent arrest shows how State Capture's roots still shadow the present. Molefe, Siyabonga Gama, Anoj Singh and Thamsanqa Jiyane — names synonymous with the systematic State Capture in the Zuma years, named and shamed in the Zondo Commission report — appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Monday. They are charged with fraud, corruption and breaching procurement laws tied to Transnet's multibillion-rand locomotive procurement. They were each granted bail of R50,000 (a fraction of the billions embezzled from the public purse), and the matter was postponed to 6 October for further investigation. It is a long game, and they are all skilled players. Ambitious plan In 2011, Transnet unveiled the Market Demand Strategy (MDS), an ambitious plan to shift freight from road to rail and modernise ports and pipelines. The centrepiece: acquiring more than 1,200 new locomotives, sourced through the Chinese manufacturers CSR and CNR, alongside deals with the firms GE and Bombardier for locally built units. Initial cost estimate: about R38-billion for 1,064 locomotives, which ballooned to about R54-billion. Zondo found that procurement deviations, cost escalations and contract irregularities had created fertile ground for looting. The Gupta playbook Transnet, of which Molefe was then the CEO, signed advisory contracts with Regiments Capital, which then linked to Trillian Capital, a firm created by Salim Essa to bridge Regiments and Gupta networks. The R93-million payment at the heart of this week's arrest: Trillian invoiced Transnet for advisory fees on the 1,064 locomotives, signed off by Singh and Gama. Within days, about R74-million was siphoned onwards. Zondo flagged this as a classic laundering move, funnelling out public money under layers of transaction fees and project support. Transnet to Eskom In 2015, Molefe was parachuted to Eskom as CEO to tackle load shedding, and the same advisory pattern reappeared. Trillian became a key Eskom consultant, landing hundreds of millions of rands in payments despite lacking proper contracts or deliverables. Molefe's brief stint at Eskom ended in controversy over the Gupta-linked Optimum Coal Mine deal and his illegal pension payout, which the courts later forced him to repay. Zondo's final reports called Molefe's Transnet-Eskom arc one of the clearest examples of the rot that moved with the man. Why this matters The Investigating Directorate Against Corruption says the arrests show how persons in positions of trust turned state contracts into private cash channels. Molefe and Singh's arrest ties the original Transnet locomotive inflation directly to the Trillian web that also leached millions off Eskom. Nearly 12 years since the MDS was signed off, the court will test whether the State can successfully prosecute those involved in the scam that Zondo laid bare. South Africans still shoulder billions in repayments for the locomotive orders: major funding came from US Exim Bank, Export Development Canada, Barclays, Investec and other financiers. Local assembly promises were partly delivered — the Koedoespoort Plant in Pretoria built GE and Bombardier units — but many sit idle, unusable due to supply deadlocks of parts. Prasa has split its procurement from Transnet's freight vision entirely, as the rail corridor remains riddled with theft, underuse and ageing stock. Now it's up to the National Prosecuting Authority to show it can break the cycle of impunity Zondo warned about. DM
