On Monday, Ajay (above right, in happier times) Atul and Rajesh Gupta together with their associate Salim Essa, reached a fresh level of notoriety. Their full names, birthdates, passport numbers and crimes appear on the latest UK Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions List. Their address is given as Dubai, UAE.
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With typical British understatement, the four enjoy an identical description. They “have been involved in serious corruption in South Africa involving the misappropriation of property…….been responsible for this corruption by playing a key part in its organisation and financially benefitted from it. This corruption caused serious damage to South Africa.”
At a conference in London in October 2019, SA president Cyril Ramaphosa estimated that State Capture cost SA close to a trillion rand. Had Gupta wishes been granted and their jackpot nuclear power deal forced through by bought-and-paid-for Jacob Zuma, the cost would have been double CR’s estimate.
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When the Zuptas were at their zenith, I attended a Mining Indaba briefing on their Shiva Uranium Mine. At the time I was surprised at the dismissal of serious questions about the viability of this underground uranium mine. With hindsight, mining costs didn’t matter. Shiva would have provided massively overpriced feedstock to the nuclear power stations. SA taxpayers dodged a big bullet there.
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