WeeklySA_AdminWOES: The family’s ultra-luxurious Joburg mansions to be auctioned off next week following two major setbacks in a fortnight – the NPA’s re-launching of new extradition proceedings; and appeal court ruling ordering the R280m Vrede Diary case re-trial…
By Anathi Madubela and WSAM Reporter
After seven years of drawn-out litigation, three luxurious Saxonwold properties in Johannesburg owned by the Gupta family are set to be auctioned – a development coinciding with the National Prosecuting Authority’s announcement this week that it will re-launch extradition proceedings to bring the fugitive kin back to South Africa to face trial.
The Gupta family’s properties – including the family’s former Johannesburg residence – are being sold by Park Village Auctions following a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling, marking what auctioneer Clive Lazarus calls “the beginning of the end” of a long-running legal and business rescue saga.
The three Johannesburg properties belong to Confident Concept, a Gupta-owned company currently on business rescue.
The auction registration fee is set at R50 000 refundable deposit, with the bidders expected to pay an additional R500 000 to bid for property number 5 and 7 (both three-storey mansions) and fork out R250 000 for the single storey property 3. Boasting 17 bedrooms altogether, the three properties were priced at R37m in a past evaluation.
The Gupta brothers, Atul, Rajesh and Tony, and their families fled to Dubai in 2018 when former President Jacob Zuma was unseated. South Africa has since been taking efforts to bring the Guptas back to South Africa to stand trial.
They face widespread allegations of bribery and money laundering, related to their alleged looting of upwards of R500 billion (approximately $26 billion) from state coffers over the course of a decade or more.
This week, the NPA said the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has still not explained why the previous extradition attempt failed.
On February 13 2023, the Dubai Court of Appeal rejected South Africa’s extradition request, on the grounds that it “did not meet the strict standards for legal documentation as outlined in the extradition agreement between the UAE and South Africa that entered into force in April 2021.” Meanwhile the simulcast auction of the properties will take place on July 24 at 11am, with the sale expected to bring long-awaited relief to creditors. It has faced two major areas of legal contention: business rescue proceedings due to financial distress, and disputes with municipal authorities over property development. The business rescue process, which began in 2018, ran alongside the municipal disputes and involved other Gupta-linked companies. It was characterised by internal conflict and protracted legal battles over the management of the company and its assets.
Opulent
The first property to be sold will be number 5 Saxonwold Drive, measuring 4 207 m², which is a three-storey residence featuring eight bedrooms, extensive living and entertainment areas, an indoor swimming pool, expansive rooftop patio, staff accommodation, and ample garaging. Second on the list is number 7 Saxonwold Drive which also comprises three storeys with 17 en suite bedrooms. The property also features a grand triple-volume foyer with an atrium-like domed skylight, multiple lounges, a cinema lounge, beauty salon, and staff accommodation.
The final property to be sold is number 3 Saxonwold Drive which is a single-storey, three-bedroom home with a single garage, storeroom and staff accommodation. The entire contents of each house, namely furniture and appliances, will be sold as a single lot (not individual items) following each respective property.
Lazarus says he is humbled by Park Villages Auctions being entrusted to dispose of assets of such political significance once again, recouping millions for the corruption-afflicted creditors.
Vrede Farm
In another major setback for the Gupta family, the Supreme Court of Appeal early this month 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, handing out the judgment on June 12, found multiple legal errors in the original trial and ordered a retrial before a new judge.
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 Gupta family wedding in Sun City in 2013, according to the Daily Maverick report.
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) is expected to reinstate the case, one of the first significant acts of State Capture by the Gupta family and their associate, former trade official Sharma, according to a Daily Maverick report.
The Commission of Inquiry into State Capture heard that poor black farmers were deprived of up to R280-million as a consequence of the Vrede dairy farm fiasco.
Vanuatu sanctuary
In 2019, the Gupta brothers, Atul and Rajesh, have acquired citizenship in Vanuatu. The Vanuatu Citizenship Commission confirmed this, stating they became citizens under the country’s Economic Citizenship Programme. This happened shortly before the brothers fled South Africa and amid ongoing investigations into allegations of corruption and state capture in 2019.
The acquisition of Vanuatu citizenship by the Gupta brothers came against the backdrop South Africa’s efforts to extradite them from the UAE to face charges related to corruption and state capture. The brothers had been residing in the UAE, but their extradition was refused, and it was later revealed that they had also obtained Vanuatu citizenship.
