Wanted in SA: New extradition request to get Gupta brothers back gains momentum

In a matter that has been dragging on for years, the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) is hoping that the Gupta brothers will soon be in South Africa to face a raft of charges.

IDAC is expected to submit a new extradition application for the Gupta brothers to be hauled back to South Africa from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a “strategic initiative.”

Extradition

South Africa’s extradition request to the UAE was rebuffed in April 2023 for flimsy procedural reasons, and without sufficient explanation, after Atul and Rajesh Gupta were quietly let off the hook months before.

Following an outcry, the South African authorities were simply told to “resubmit the application”.

In November of last year, the extradition request again ended in failure due to issues with jurisdiction.

ALSO READ: Gupta arrests: Turning state’s witness could put brothers’ lives in danger

Hiding in UAE

IDAC head Andrea Johnson said they will now submit a new extradition application.  

“When we resubmit an application now, we’ve got to resubmit an application with all of the other matters that has since been investigated so that we can do it in on shot”.

WATCH: Advocate Andrea Johnson speaking about the Gupta brothers extradition

The Investigating Directorate will soon submit a fresh extradition application, for the Gupta brothers to be brought back from the UAE. Emirates authorities rejected the previous application, submitted in November last year. #Guptas #eNCA pic.twitter.com/fvQHT7s620

— eNCA (@eNCA) June 23, 2025

Johnson said Rajesh and Atul are still hiding out in the UAE.

“From what we understand, yes. I do believe that they do perhaps from time to time go to India. Be that as it may, our extradition applications would perhaps have to be more than just the UAE. It would depend at the time of the execution of the application, we would be most certainly looking at where are they and send those applications to the relevant authorities”.

Zuptas

Rajesh and Atul, friends of former president Jacob Zuma, are accused of using their relationship with the former president to profit financially and influence senior government appointments.

They were arrested in the UAE in June 2022 after Interpol placed them on its most wanted list.

The Guptas and the Zumas, famously named “The Zuptas”, were fingered in state capture.

Witnesses alleged they worked together to siphon money from Transnet, Eskom, and Denel, and made decisions about who was to be appointed to Cabinet. Zuma and the Guptas have persistently denied wrongdoing.

ALSO READ: Zuma and entire ANC must be sweating bullets after Gupta brothers’ arrest

Spilling the beans

While many want a speedy extradition of the brothers to South Africa, political analyst Ralph Mathekga believes the Guptas might be in danger when they set foot on South African soil, because of the information they possess about the African National Congress (ANC) and top politicians.

Mathekga previously told The Citizen that politics in South Africa would be unravelled if the Guptas are extradited.

“They will be having to speak the truth, and it’s a dangerous thing for the ANC. I won’t be surprised if someone tries to kill them. This thing is big, it goes deep into the party, so look at what happened to the likes of Gavin Watson.”

“When you are becoming a liability and in a moment such as this, when the ANC is at this crossroad, ANC members will not be enticed. We’ve seen how they kill each other, I don’t think there will be a problem,” Mathekga said.

Gupta threat

Gareth Newham, head of the Justice and Violence Prevention Program at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) said there may be people, possibly even Zuma that were implicated in state capture and would see the Guptas as a threat.

“That would be dependent on whether they would be willing to relay information, and considering that they would want to avoid spending the rest of their lives in prison, I can’t imagine they would be very keen to give that information up.”

“What they would be doing with their billions is trying to ensure like our former president that they use every possible legal channel available, the ‘Stalingrad Strategy’ so to speak, to try and avoid standing trial and then they would try and make sure they are acquitted by not cooperating and providing potentially plausible narrative or evidence as to why they are not guilty of any crime,” said Newham.

Newham said, given the value of the Gupta brothers to the South African government, the fugitives from justice would be under intense protection against any attacks.

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