Interpol helping SA nail Guptas: Justice finally coming

When the United States is referred to, in geopolitical terms, as arrogating to itself the role of “global policeman”, it is commonly assumed this relates to Washington’s use of military and other means to deal with regimes whose politics it doesn’t agree with.

Yet, the undoubted economic, diplomatic and intelligence muscle of the world’s currently most powerful country can also be used to good effect to deal with global corruption which is, effectively, stealing the food from the mouths of the world’s poor.

The Americans have made it plain that they will act harshly against any of their own citizens who are guilty of bribery and corruption in other countries. But, they are moving more to a position where they are willing to take action against those global felons who count their loot in US dollars.

Because of the global ubiquity of the US currency, that means there are very few places the corrupt can hide.

Our own fugitive state capturers, the Gupta family and their criminal associates, have created global networks of front companies to launder the billions stolen from the South African taxpayer.

So, it will take an international, cooperative effort to bring them to justice.

A significant step in that process was taken yesterday with the announcement by our National Prosecuting Authority that it will ask the international policing organisation, Interpol, to issue a “Red Notice” for members of the Gupta family and some of their henchmen.

This means, effectively, they can only travel to countries – very few of them – which will not honour an Interpol notice. And, wherever they are holed up, pressure will be brought to bear on the authorities in that country to arrest and extradite them to South Africa for trial.

The Americans have already “sanctioned” the family financially – so the dominoes are starting to fall.