The Gupta family is a wealthy

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

-born family with business interests in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, whose most notable members are brothers Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh "Tony" Gupta—as well as Atul's nephews Varun, and US-based Ashish and Amol. The family owns a business empire spanning computer equipment,

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

, and

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

. The family became synomous with

corruption in South Africa Corruption in South Africa includes the improper use of public resources for private ends, including bribery and improper favouritism. The 2017 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index assigned South Africa a score of 43 out of 10 ...

and has been sanctioned by multiple countries for their activities. In 2016, Atul Gupta became the seventh-wealthiest person in South Africa, with an estimated net worth of R10.7 billion (US$773.47 million), based on JSE-listed holdings. The family migrated from the Indian state of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

to South Africa in 1993 to establish Sahara Computers. The family was based at the Sahara Estate in Saxonwold, Johannesburg, a compound comprising at least four mansions, until 2016 when they left South Africa for

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

. In 2022 an Interpol red notice was issued for the arrest of Atul and Rajesh Gupta to face fraud and money-laundering charges. The brothers were reportedly arrested in

on 6 June 2022. Extradition talks took place between South Africa and United Arab Emirates. The family has been the focus of extensive international scrutiny and caused much political controversy as result of their close ties to Jacob Zuma before and during his presidency. Their strong connection to Zuma, both personally and through their company Oakbay Investments, have led to widespread claims of corruption and

undue influence Undue influence (UI) is a psychological process by which a person's free will and judgement is supplanted by that of another. It is a legal term and the strict definition varies by jurisdiction. Generally speaking, it is a means by which a per ...

. These ties have also led to accusations of state capture: it is alleged that the government has undertaken activities and decisions, decided some high-level appointments, and determined control of some state enterprises, for the Gupta family's direct or indirect benefit, or in agreement with the family. In 2015, the Guptas' influence on the presidency was described by anti-corruption campaigner and former trades unionist Zwelinzima Vavi as being a " shadow government." Multiple

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

and ministers have stated that they were offered government positions by, or on behalf of, the Gupta family, in return for beneficial commercial decisions once appointed. In 2017, it was discovered that

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

PR company

Bell Pottinger Bell Pottinger Private (legally BPP Communications Ltd.) was a British multinational public relations, reputation management and marketing company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. On 12 September 2017 it went into administration (bankr ...

, acting on behalf of Gupta-owned Oakbay Investments, had deliberately manipulated and inflamed racial tensions, stirred up

racial hatred Ethnic hatred, inter-ethnic hatred, racial hatred, or ethnic tension refers to notions and acts of prejudice and hostility towards an ethnic group in varying degrees. There are multiple origins for ethnic hatred and the resulting ethnic conflic ...

, and made accusations of " white monopoly capital," using a large number of fake Twitter and other accounts online, as part of a campaign to portray Oakbay and those connected to it as victims, apparently intended to deflect corruption claims. Bell Pottinger subsequently collapsed in the wake of the scandal.

Interests

The family has operated a number of companies in different industries, including ICT,

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

, and

leisure Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time. Free time is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores, and education, as well as necessary activities such as eating and sleeping. Leisur ...

. Their first venture into South Africa was in the early 1990s, with the establishment of Sahara Computers and Sahara Systems PLC, the former being a hardware distribution company. In mining, the family's investments have included: * Oakbay Resources and Energy — a mining and processing company that supplies such products as gold, uranium, platinum, coal, and diamonds, as well as conducting trackless/mechanised mining, track bound mining, breast mining, down-dip mining, and open-pit gold operation. It began trading on the JSE on 28 November 2014. ** The Shiva Uranium Mine (acquired in 2010 as

Uranium One Uranium One is an international group of companies, part of the management circuit of the TENEX Group of Rosatom State Corporation. Since 2013, it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Moscow-based Uranium One Group, a part of the Russian state-owned nu ...

) — a

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

and

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

mining and processing company in

Hartbeesfontein Hartbeesfontein, officially Lethabong, is a settlement near Klerksdorp, in the North West province of South Africa. It is situated at the intersection of the R503 and R507 routes. Geology The town is situated on an ancient geological feature k ...

North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

. * Tegeta Exploration and Resources — coal mining and exploration company * Westdawn Investments Ltd ( tradename: JIC Mining Services) — a contract mining company * Black Edge Exploration * VR Laser Services — a steel-plate processing centre for the mining, rail, transport, and defence industries. They held substantial media interests in South Africa through: * TNA Media — a company that published the now-defunct ''

The New Age ''The New Age'' was a British weekly magazine (1894–1938), inspired by Fabian socialism, and credited as a major influence on literature and the arts during its heyday from 1907 to 1922, when it was edited by Alfred Richard Orage. It publishe ...

'', a national daily newspaper. * Infinity Media — aired the now-defunct (

ANN7 Afro Worldview (previously ANN7, African News Network 7) was a 24-hour satellite TV news channel that operated from August 2013 to August 2018 in South Africa. It was established and owned by the Gupta family. The channel was broadcast on the DStv ...

or African News Network) — a 24-hour news channel. The family invested in

and hospitality through Islandsite Investments 180, which held properties in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

Rustenburg Rustenburg (; , Afrikaans and Dutch: ''City of Rest'') is a city at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range. Rustenburg is the most populous city in North West province, South Africa (549,575 in 2011 and 626,522 in the 2016 census). In 20 ...

, and Welgevonden, among others. Other interests include Confident Concepts. On 8 September 2016, Oakbay Investments released their annual audited results: for the financial year ending on 29 February 2016, the company's group revenue totaled R2.62 billion.

Sales of business units (August 2017)

On 21 August 2017, Oakbay announced the sale of both media units, Infinity Media (

TV news) and TNA Media (''

'' newspaper), to a firm named Lodidox, owned by Mzwanele Manyi. Per the company's statement, Oakbay would sell its shareholding in Infinity Media for R300-million and its two-thirds stake in TNA Media for R150 million. The sale was vendor-financed, which entailed the lending of R450 million worth of shares to Manyi-owned Lodidox by Gupta-owned Oakbay so the sale could occur. The Economic Freedom Fighters criticised the deal, stating that it simply disguised continued Gupta ownership. On 23 August 2017, Oakbay announced the sale of Tegeta Exploration and Resources to Swiss-based Charles King SA for R2.97-billion. Oakbay stipulated that the purchaser safeguard mine employment and maintain a minimum of 30% of shares allocated to a BEE partner.

Relationship with Jacob Zuma

Atul Gupta protest banner - Cape Town Zuma must fall

The Gupta family has been the focus of extensive international scrutiny and caused much political controversy as result of their close ties to former President Jacob Zuma, before and during his presidency. Zuma's close relationship with the family is also a source of tension within his own party, the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

(ANC). Both Zuma and the Guptas, however, deny that the relationship has granted any undue influence to the family. The Guptas and then- Deputy President Zuma first met at a function hosted by the Guptas at their Sahara Estate in 2003. Since then, the family have been involved in a number of events involving Zuma and his family. The family is also known to have been a supporter of Zuma during his power struggle for leadership of the ANC with then-president

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...

in 2005. The family is known to have employed one of Zuma's wives, Bongi Ngema-Zuma. Moreover, one of Zuma's sons, Duduzane Zuma, was a director in a number of Gupta-owned firms, but has since resigned from all positions held at Gupta-owned businesses; and one of his daughters, Duduzile Zuma, was made a director of the Gupta-owned Sahara computers in 2008, and has also since resigned from that position. The Guptas' influence on the presidency has been described by Zwelinzima Vavi, the former General Secretary of the

Congress of South African Trade Unions The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the largest of the country's three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions.One Union expelled, ...

, as a "shadow government." Donwald Pressly, of the South African business publication '' Biznews'', has stated that comments made by then-Deputy President

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

about the state capture of public enterprises by people with political connections was referring to the close relationship between Zuma and the Guptas. One of South Africa's opposition parties, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), stated that the Guptas "have

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

colonised South Africa, with Zuma being the chief colonial administrator." The Guptas have denied this allegation, saying that they have never taken any benefit from the relationship with Zuma. Prior to its

national executive committee National Executive Committee is the name of a leadership body in several organizations, mostly political parties: * National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in South Africa * Australian Labor Party National Executive * Nationa ...

over the weekend of 18–20 March 2016, spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said that the ANC was concerned about state capture. As result, in March 2016, the ANC launched an investigation into state capture and the Gupta family. In May 2016, ANC Secretary-General

Gwede Mantashe Samson Gwede Mantashe, popularly known as Gwede Mantashe, (born 21 June 1955) is a South African politician and trade unionist, who as of 18 December 2017, serves as the National Chairperson of the African National Congress. He is also a former ...

said that it would be a "fruitless" exercise for the party to continue to investigate allegations of state capture against the Gupta family as they had only received one written submission on the matter. A spokesman for the ‘

Hawks Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfamily ...

’, serious-crime investigative unit set up by the Zuma administration, stated that reports of corruption charges being filed against three ministers and the Gupta family were "baseless." As part of the company's annual results announcement in September 2016, Oakbay Investments stated that government contracts accounted for 9% of the company's sales. Oakbay also stated that its largest mining company, JIC Mining Services, has never had a government contract, while Sahara, the second biggest contributor, has had no government contacts following a deliberate decision taken by the board in 2008.

Zupta

The term Zupta refers to the close relationship between the Gupta family and Jacob Zuma, particularly used by detractors of both Zuma and the family. The

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsEconomic Freedom Fighters at the 2016 South African presidential State of the Nation Address when they disrupted the event by repeatedly chanting "Zupta must fall" to express their dissatisfaction with this relationship.

"Guptagate" wedding controversy

On 30 April 2013, an Airbus A330-200 chartered aircraft run by

Jet Airways Jet Airways (India) Ltd is an Indian airline based in Delhi NCR, with a training and developmental center in Mumbai. Incorporated in April 1992 as a limited liability company, the airline began operations as an air taxi operator in 1993. It b ...

carrying 217 guests from India was cleared to land at the South African Air Force base at Waterkloof for the wedding ceremony of Vega Gupta to Aakash Jahajgarhia at Sun City, North West. This event caused a significant controversy that led to the

(ANC) and other political parties, as well as the South African National Defence Union, to denounce this irregular use of the air force base. The ANC issued a statement calling for "those responsible for giving the family permission to come into the country without going through the normal channels be 'brought to book'." In the aftermath of the event, India's High Commissioner Virendra Gupta (no relation) said publicly that the Indian High Commission had been given permission to land the plane at Waterkloof Air Force Base. He explained that the Commission communicated through its defence adviser with the chief of defence for foreign relations in the SA National Defence Force (SANDF). The landing was cleared by Bruce Koloane, then-chief of state protocol at the

Department of International Relations Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, who insisted that the flight was a "sensitive" official visit. Koloane was demoted after an investigation concluded that he used Zuma's name to illegally authorise the landing. President Zuma was scheduled to attend the wedding but cancelled after the incident became public. The family apologised for the incident, stating that they had applied for special permission to land as a number of the guests were Indian government ministers and that it was promoting tourism to South Africa. The incident prompted a significant outcry, so much so that it was dubbed "Guptagate" by the South African media. In 2017, it was revealed that the wedding was paid for by funds, laundered through Dubai, and granted to a Gupta-linked company by the

Free State Province The Free State, known as Orange Free State until the 28th of June 1995 when its name was changed, is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Boer ...

government, purportedly as part of the Vrede Dairy Project. In January 2018, the Asset Forfeiture Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority seized R220 million that Free State Department of Agriculture under Mosebenzi Zwane had paid to the Gupta family as part of this project, calling it a "scheme designed to defraud and steal monies from the department". The

unit of South Africa's Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) raided the offices of

Ace Magashule Elias Sekgobelo "Ace" Magashule (born 3 November 1959) is a South African politician and former anti-apartheid activist who was Secretary General of the African National Congress (ANC) until his suspension on 3 May 2021. He served as the Premier ...

, the Premier of the Free State, in connection with the project.

Influence over Cabinet appointments

In 2016, a series of allegations of the Guptas' influence over appointments to the South African Cabinet came to the fore. Former ANC MP

Vytjie Mentor Mabel Patronella Mentor (19 October 1963 – 23 August 2022), known as Vytjie Mentor, was a South African politician, who served as a member of the National Assembly from 2002 until 2014. She represented the African National Congress and serve ...

claimed that in 2010 the Guptas had offered her the position of

Minister of Public Enterprises The Minister of Public Enterprises is a minister in the cabinet of the national government of South Africa. He is appointed by the President of South Africa and is the political head of the Department of Public Enterprises, which was establishe ...

, provided that she arranged for South African Airways to drop their India route, allowing Gupta-linked

to take the route. She said she declined the offer, which occurred at the Guptas' Saxonwold residence, while President Zuma was in another room. This came a few days before a cabinet reshuffle in which minister Barbara Hogan was dismissed by Zuma. The Gupta family denied that the meeting took place and denied offering Vytijie a ministerial position. President Zuma claimed that he had no recollection of Vytjie Mentor. Deputy Finance Minister

Mcebisi Jonas Mcebisi Hubert Jonas (born 1960) is a former Deputy Finance Minister of the Government of South Africa who served from 2014 to 2016. He has also been a Member of the Executive Council for Economic Development and Environmental Affairs in the Ea ...

confirmed media reports that he had been offered the ministerial position by the Guptas shortly before the disastrous dismissal of Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene in December 2015, but had rejected the offer out of hand as "it makes a mockery of our hard-earned democracy‚ the trust of our people and no one apart from the President of the Republic appoints ministers." The Gupta family denied offering Jonas the job of Finance Minister. The Sunday Times has reported that the Minister of Mineral Resources, Mosebenzi Zwane, and then Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, David van Rooyen (who was controversially appointed by President Zuma as Minister of Finance in December 2015) met with members of the Gupta family in

. Van Rooyen allegedly met with them only a few days after his unsuccessful appointment to be Minister of Finance on 20 December 2015. Minister Zwane assisted in the sale of a large coal mine to a Gupta owned company. Former bodyguards of the Gupta family have stated that they often saw important government officials, such as Hlaudi Motsoeneng the COO of the state broadcaster, the

SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's stat ...

, and large amounts of money in cash moving out of the Gupta's Saxonwold estate. The bodyguards also stated that Ajay Gupta would visit President Zuma up to three times a week until 2015 at the presidential guest house in Pretoria. A spokesperson for president Zuma denies that the visits ever happened. Ranjeni Munusamy of the ''

Daily Maverick ''Daily Maverick'' is a South African daily online publication and weekly print newspaper, with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Its readership is spread across South Africa and the world, with approximately 8 million readers per month. I ...

'' stated the "Gupta family has effectively usurped the function of the ANC deployment committee," thereby undermining the party's ability to independently and legitimately select senior ministers and executives in government and state owned companies. Following a formal complaint submitted in March 2016 by a Catholic priest, Father Stanslaus Muyebe, the Gupta's alleged influence became the subject of an investigation into "state capture" by outgoing Public Protector

Thuli Madonsela Thulisile Nomkhosi "Thuli" Madonsela (born 28 September 1962) is a South African advocate and professor of law, holding a chair in social justice at Stellenbosch University since January 2018. She served as the Public Protector of South Africa ...

. President Zuma and Minister Des van Rooyen applied for an interdict to prevent the publication of the report on 14 October 2016, Madonsela's last day in office. Van Rooyen's application was dismissed, and the President withdrew his application, leading to the release of the report on 2 November. The report recommends the establishment of a judicial commission of enquiry into the issues identified. The report recommends that a full probe of Mr. Zuma's dealings with the Guptas should be conducted by a commission of inquiry, with the findings published within 180 days. Zuma and Des van Rooyen have since denied any wrongdoing. The Gupta's lawyer disputed the evidence in the report. The Gupta family have denied any wrongdoing and welcomed the opportunity to challenge the report's findings in an official judiciary inquiry. On 25 November 2016, Zuma announced that the presidency would be reviewing the contents of the state capture report. He said it "was done in a funny way" with "no fairness at all" and argued he was not given enough time to respond to the public protector. In late May 2017 a number of emails were leaked to the public from the Guptas and their associates implicating them in efforts to appoint government ministers and heads of government owned companies in addition to coordinating activities with political figures associated with President Zuma for their own personal gain. Most notable were efforts to appoint Gupta friendly executives for

Transnet Transnet SOC Ltd is a large South African rail, port and pipeline company, headquartered in the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg. It was formed as a limited company on 1 April 1990. A majority of the company's stock is owned by the Departmen ...

Eskom Eskom Hld SOC Ltd or Eskom is a South African electricity public utility. It was established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) and was also known by its Afrikaans name Elektrisiteitsvoorsieningskommissie (EVKOM). Eskom repre ...

, the appointment of Mosebenzi Zwane as minister of mineral resources. The

ANC Youth League The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) is the youth wing of the African National Congress (ANC). As set out in its constitution, the ANC Youth League is led by a National Executive Committee (NEC) and a National Working Committee (NW ...

and the pro-Gupta political party Black First Land First (BLF) disputed the authenticity of the emails whilst the Communist Party of South Africa stated that the emails "look genuine". In January 2018, Ramaphosa announced that there would indeed be a Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, and this would be chaired by

Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa The Deputy Chief Justice of South Africa is a judge in the Constitutional Court of South Africa and the second-highest judicial post in the Republic of South Africa, after the Chief Justice. The post, originally called "Deputy President of the C ...

Raymond Zondo Raymond Mnyamezeli Mlungisi "Ray" Zondo (born 4 May 1960) is a South African judge who is currently serving as Chief Justice of South Africa since 2022. President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Zondo as South Africa's new chief justice with effect ...

. Hearings began on 20 August 2018, and are expected to last for two years.

Mining and energy interests

Oakbay Resources and Energy is a mining and processing company run by the Guptas that began trading on the JSE on 28 November 2014.

Iron ore dispute

In 2010, the Gupta-owned firm Imperial Crown Trading (ICT), along with Duduzane Zuma who was a part owner in ICT, were involved in a dispute with

ArcelorMittal ArcelorMittal S.A. is a Luxembourgian multinational steel manufacturing corporation headquartered in Luxembourg City. It was formed in 2006 from the takeover and merger of Arcelor by Indian-owned Mittal Steel. ArcelorMittal is the second la ...

and

Anglo American plc Anglo American plc is a British listed multinational mining company with headquarters in London, England. It is the world's largest producer of platinum, with around 40% of world output, as well as being a major producer of diamonds, copper ...

over the rightful ownership of Kumba Iron Ore, which owns Sishen mine, one of Africa's largest iron mines. The Department of Mineral Resources granted the ICT 21.4% ownership in the mine when ArcelorMittal did not renew their mining licence in time. The case was taken to the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

where, in 2013, it was ruled that the Gupta/Zuma consortium could not claim rightful ownership. Had they won the case, ArcelorMittal would have had to pay them R800 million (US$80 million).

Coal

The South African Sunday Times alleged that a Gupta owned company, Tegeta, benefited from official connections in the awarding of a R4 billion contract to supply coal to the state electrical utility company

. The Mines Minister Mosebenzi Zwane denied this allegation saying that he didn't give Tegeta any preferential treatment and was only interested in preserving jobs following Tegeta's purchase of a coal mine that supplies Eskom. According to the business rescue practitioners Tegeta will also take on the R2.4 billion penalty imposed by Eskom on Optimum for delivering poor-quality coal. On 12 June, City Press alleged that Eskom awarded Tegeta a contract worth more than R564 million, paying in advance in order to ‘bail out the Guptas’ and that it also allowed the company to divert a significant portion of Optimum's coal to another power station in order to be bought at a higher price. An executive for Eskom said that paying companies in advance has been done before and that Eskom was not diverting coal from the Hendrina power plant to the Arnot power plant. Nazeem Howa described allegations as "sublime and ridiculous" and that prepayments were a standard practice of Eskom. On 8 September 2016, Nazeem Howa, the head of Oakbay Investments, told ''Bloomberg'' that Oakbay had signed a contract to export power-plant coal at a premium to the highest price it gets from Eskom of R150 ($11) per ton. He declined to comment on whether its export allocation was being sold.

Uranium interests, Nhlanhla Nene, Pravin Gordhan and KPMG

The family is alleged by the

Rand Daily Mail ''The Rand Daily Mail'' was a South African newspaper published from 1902 until it was controversially closed in 1985 after adopting an outspoken anti-apartheid stance in the midst of a massive clampdown on activists by the security forces. The ...

to have worked closely with Zuma to secure interests in South Africa's nuclear energy sector. In 2014 the South African government announced that a 9 600 MW nuclear procurement programme that entailed the construction of six to eight nuclear reactors at an estimated cost of between R800 billion to R1.6 trillion (US$50 billion to US$100 billion) was under consideration. This proposal was approved by the Zuma cabinet on 9 December 2015. Zuma's controversial dismissal of then minister of finance Nhlanhla Nene on 9 December 2015 is alleged to have been partially motivated by Nene's department's resistance to the nuclear agreement. President Zuma stated that this move was motivated by Nene's nomination to head the African Regional Centre of the New Development Bank/Brics Bank. Zuma's statement was met with skepticism by the media and opposition political parties, partly because Nene was unaware of his nomination to the post. Nene was briefly replaced with the little known David van Rooyen before public criticism, and a sharp decline in the

South African Rand The South African rand, or simply the rand, ( sign: R; code: ZAR) is the official currency of the Southern African Common Monetary Area: South Africa, Namibia (alongside the Namibian dollar), Lesotho (alongside the Lesotho loti) and Eswatin ...

and stock market led to Zuma re-appointing former minister of finance

Pravin Gordhan Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan (born 12 April 1949) is a politician and anti-apartheid activist who has held various ministerial posts in the Cabinet of South Africa. He served as Minister of Finance from 2009 until 2014 and again from 2015 until 2017 ...

to the position instead. Strong links between both of Van Rooyen's top two advisers and the Gupta family came to light a few months after Nene's dismissal. Shortly after Gordhan's appointment an investigation was initiated by the Hawks into allegations of corruption whilst he was head of the South African Revenue Service. The investigation was criticised on legal grounds and for being politically motivated by a number of organisations and individuals including the South African Communist Party. Gordhan stated that the Gupta family was behind the charges. The Gupta family denied being involved in any effort to remove Gordhan from office, however, in 2017, much of Gupta auditor

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

’s senior leadership in South Africa resigned, and a report, issued by KPMG in 2015, accusing Gordhan of improprieties was withdrawn, after an internal investigation found that the work done by KPMG for the Gupta family fell "considerably short" of the firm's standards, and amid a rising political and public backlash.

Power plants

The Gupta family was implicated in the alleged improper awarding of a contract to install a new

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, centr ...

at the Duvha Power Station to

Dongfang Electric Dongfang Electric Corporation () is a Chinese state-owned manufacturer of power generators and the contracts of power station projects. According to Platts, in 2009-10 the company was the second largest manufacturer of steam turbines by worldwide ...

after the Gupta connected advisory firm Trillian gave the Dongfang bid the go ahead.

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...

filed court papers stating that Dongfang was given the contract through a rigged tendering process by Eskom even though the Dongfang bid was R1 billion (US$76 million) more than the General Electric bid.

Railways

The Gupta family along with Duduzane Zuma have been implicated in an attempt to improperly influence the awarding of a R51 billion (roughly equivalent to US$6 billion in 2012) contract to deliver 600 trains to South Africa on behalf of the China South Rail company. In 2012 the former head of the South African Passenger Rail Agency (Prasa), Lucky Montana, wrote a letter detailing an attempt by the Guptas and Zuma to pressure then South African minister of transport, Ben Martins, and Montana, Prasa's then CEO, to favour China South Rail. The letter became public in June 2016 when Montana sent a copy to the amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism.

SAP kickback allegations

In July 2017,

SAP Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separ ...

was accused of having paid CAD House, a Gupta-controlled company, R100 million in order to secure a

deal in 2015. SAP denied the allegations, claiming that the money was paid as "an extension of the sales force", despite CAD House having no prior SAP experience. As a consequence of the allegations, SAP suspended some managers, and launched an investigation appointing an acting managing director for Africa while the investigation continued.

Armaments

VR Laser Services, in which the Guptas and Duduzane Zuma, President Zuma's son, own a 25% stake, entered into a partnership with the state owned aerospace and defence company

Denel Denel SOC Ltd is a South African state-owned aerospace and military technology conglomerate established in 1992. It was created when the manufacturing subsidiaries of Armscor were split off in order for Armscor to become the procurement agency ...

to establish Denel Asia, based in Hong Kong. The official opposition, Democratic Alliance have alleged that the establishment of the joint venture is illegal as certain provisions of the Public Finance Management Act have not been complied with. The

Lynne Brown Lynne Brown (born 26 September 1961) is a South African politician who is a former Minister of Public Enterprises and former Premier of the Western Cape Province. She was born in Cape Town and grew up in Mitchells Plain. She was appointed Premie ...

, confirmed that the Asian marketing arm of Denel was not in compliance with various legal provisions.

Media

The international news broadcaster Al Jazeera English has alleged that Zuma's close relationship with the Guptas has "translated into friendly coverage in the outlets they own," specifically

and ''

''.

Economic Freedom Fighters criticism

On 4 February 2016 Julius Malema of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) announced that members of the press from Gupta owned media companies, ANN7 and The New Age, would no longer be welcome at future EFF media announcements. The EFF alleged that this was because of their role as being part of a "propaganda machinery" of a "corrupt cartel". He stated that the EFF "cannot guarantee the safety of those who are working in those studios and printing factories of the New Age and ANN7." The EFF criticised the "New Age Breakfasts", a series of breakfast events organised by The New Age with and often paid for by government departments, as well as accused the paper of receiving preferential treatment in receiving advertising contracts from government. A spokesperson for the African National Congress defended the Gupta family, stressing their history of investment in South Africa. A few days later the EFF released a list of 25 reasons why they are against the family, again accusing them of receiving preferential treatment in business dealings with government as well as government preference and collusion with Gupta owned media interests. The EFF's perceived threats towards ANN7 and New Age employees caused a number of other media commentators and publications to criticise Malema's remarks as threatening media independence and advocating violence towards the media and a particularly strong rebuke from the New Age and ANN7. An anti-gag order disallowing the EFF from banning The New Age and ANN7 from EFF media briefings was issued by the High Court following Malema's remarks. The court also upheld the applicants’ rights and those of the Gupta family as South African citizens to remain in South Africa and carry out business operations. The judge presiding over the case concluded that Malema's statement was a "threat of violence" and said the Guptas and their employees "have a constitutionally protected right not to be threatened with violence".

Sekunjalo Investments dispute

In November 2012, the Gupta family, through Oakbay Investments, were granted an option to buy 50% of the shares of Independent News and Media South Africa, one of the largest newspaper operations in South Africa, after the company had been bought out by Sekunjalo Investments who was negotiating the purchase of the group from the Irish owned

Independent News and Media Mediahuis Ireland (formally Independent News and Media (INM) )) is a media organisation that is based in Dublin and publishes national daily newspapers, Sunday newspapers, regional newspapers and operates multiple websites including Independent. ...

. After the successful purchase of the group by Sekunjalo in February 2013 Oakbay sought to exercise its share purchase options. This led to disagreements between Oakbay and Sekunjalo about the true value and cost of the options and so they could not settle on an agreement as to how much Oakbay should pay for the shares. Ten percent of buyout by Sekunjalo was also funded by the South African Government Employees Pension Fund who had never agreed to Oakbay having the options and, when asked in early 2016, rejected Oakbay's request to exercise the option to buy 50% of the now Sekunjalo owned newspaper publishing company. This led to Oakbay taking Sekunjalo to court.

Public relations efforts and the Bell Pottinger controversy

To deal with mounting public criticism the Gupta family hired the public relations firm

. In late February 2016 several internet-based sources were altered to be favourable to the Guptas. These included activities in Wikipedia, chat rooms, blogs and on news articles related to the Gupta family. It is thought by the ''

Mail and Guardian The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sys ...

'' that these favourable alterations were part of a sustained media campaign to improve the family's image. After emails from servers associated with Gupta newspapers were leaked, Bell Pottinger was reported to be involved in substantial editing of this Wikipedia page about the Guptas; a Bell Pottinger employee was said to have emailed much of the content to a Gupta account for it to be uploaded. In a statement to the ''Financial Times'' on 25 November 2016, Bell Pottinger stated that their role has been "to correct misperceptions" about Oakbay. They have intended to communicate that a competitive, disruptive, job-creating narrative is what is needed to achieve transformation in South Africa. Gupta owned media outlets, ANN7 and ''The New Age'', ran stories alleging an anti-Zuma plot by a faction within the ANC was one possible source of allegations against the Gupta family. Following the ANC's national executive council meeting in March 2016 the ANC's secretary general issued a statement criticising the coverage of the event by Gupta family owned media. In response ANN7 and ''The New Age'' agreed to publish an official apology to the ANC. Bell Pottinger announced they had dropped the Gupta family as clients on 12 April 2017. This followed a '' Sunday Times'' article that claimed that the Gupta family and President Zuma worked with the firm to incite racial tensions using bots and sockpuppets on

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

in an effort to manipulate public opinion. Leaked emails allegedly from the Guptas suggested that the family planned to deal with negative publicity by buying newspapers critical of the family such as ''Mail & Guardian''. Bell Pottinger went into administration (bankruptcy) in September 2017, as a consequence of the scandal resulting from activities undertaken by the firm on behalf of the Guptas, particularly its role in inflaming racial tension in South Africa.

= Fake news

= Media interests owned by Gupta were blamed by other South African media organisations and civil society organisations for running

fake news Fake news is false or misleading information presented as news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue.Schlesinger, Robert (April 14, 2017)"Fake news in reality ...

campaigns against a number of individuals and groups judged hostile to Gupta interests. Targets included ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'', ''Sunday Times,''

Radio 702 702 is a commercial FM radio station based in Johannesburg, South Africa, broadcasting on FM 92.7 and FM 106 to the greater Gauteng province. The station is also webcast via its website. It claims to be Johannesburg's number one news and talk ...

, and '' City Press'' in addition to individuals such as Finance Minister

who was seen as blocking Gupta attempts at state capture. Attacks against Gordhan focused on accusations of him promoting state capture for "white monopoly capital".

Corporate response

Due to the controversial nature of the family's relationship with Jacob Zuma numerous South African and international banking and auditing firms decided to end their business dealings with Gupta-owned firms in early April 2016. The auditing firm

, the brokerage Sasfin Bank, and Barclays Africa's Absa bank as well as First National Bank all announced that they would no longer be dealing with the Gupta-owned Oakbay Investments, the holding company for the family's investments. Johan van Dyk at the South African financial forensics firm Censeo stated that companies were disassociating with the family due to concerns that an association with the family could cost them customers. In response the Gupta-owned Oakbay alleged that this is "clear proof that the recent allegations against the company and the wider Gupta family are all part of a carefully orchestrated political campaign". Oakbay executives publicly repeated the accusation and went on to accuse South African businessman Johan Rupert of being involved in a conspiracy against them. Oakbay stated that Rupert, through the Rupert-owned Remgro investment company, had interests in the country's financial institutions and that this allowed him to influence banks so that they would stop doing business with Oakbay. Although Remgro had a 3.3% share ownership in FirstRand it did not have any investments or ownership in any of the other financial institutions Oakbay accused it of having. On 8 April 2016, Duduzane Zuma, Atul Gupta, and Varun Gupta announced that they would be stepping down from their director positions at Oakbay Resources and Energy in response to mounting pressure. Oakbay stated that it had become nearly impossible to conduct business due to the business community's decision to discontinue doing business with the controversial firm. A few days later, Ajay and Atul Gupta along with other members of the family were reported to have left South Africa for

. Julius Malema of the EFF, claimed that president Zuma illegally took out R6 billion (US$400 million) of the Gupta's money for them from South Africa when he visited the United Arab Emirates in March 2016. The trade union and ANC political ally

COSATU The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the largest of the country's three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions.One Union expelled, ...

criticised the move by South African financial institutions to refuse to do business with Oakbay on the grounds that it was "political posturing" and put the jobs of thousands of South African employees of the firm at risk. On 20 June it was reported that the Gupta family were back in South Africa after an extended time away from the country. On 8 September 2016, after announcing their annual results, Nazeem Howa told Reuters that the company was intending to urge the four banks that ended their relationships with the company to reopen their accounts. Howa was also quoted as stating that a judicial commission of enquiry into the banks would be the "best way" to shed light on the reasoning behind their decision to close the accounts with Oakbay.

Public response

Notable ANC members

Ahmed Kathrada Ahmed Mohamed Kathrada (21 August 1929 – 28 March 2017), sometimes known by the nickname "Kathy", was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist. Kathrada's involvement in the anti-apartheid activities of the African National Con ...

and Derek Hanekom called on the ANC to address public concerns relating to President Zuma's relationship with the Gupta family. Prior to criticising financial institutions for refusing to do business with Oakbay, the trade union COSATU called for Zuma to distance himself from the Gupta family. Following Kathrada's death in March 2017, Zuma was not invited to his funeral at the request of Kathrada's family, due to Zuma's controversial relationship with the Gupta family; former President Kgalema Motlanthe read an open letter from Kathrada, published a year before his death, in which he called on Zuma to resign. A

hacktivist In Internet activism, hacktivism, or hactivism (a portmanteau of '' hack'' and '' activism''), is the use of computer-based techniques such as hacking as a form of civil disobedience to promote a political agenda or social change. With roots in h ...

group claiming to be associated with Anonymous launched a number of

Distributed Denial of Service In computing, a denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) is a cyber-attack in which the perpetrator seeks to make a machine or network resource unavailable to its intended users by temporarily or indefinitely disrupting services of a host conne ...

attacks on websites associated with the Gupta family in June 2016. Targeted Gupta-owned companies included Oakbay Investments, Oakbay Resources and Energy, The New Age (newspaper), Sahara (IT firm), and ANN7 (broadcaster). South African artist Ayanda Mabulu exhibited a controversial painting criticizing Zuma's controversial and close relationship with the Guptas. The painting portrayed Zuma performing anilingus on Atul Gupta in the cockpit of an airplane with an ANC flag backdrop. Zuma's relationship with the family became a campaign issue that negatively affected the ANC's performance in the 2016 South African municipal elections. Following the dismissal of Gordan as Minister of Finance in April 2017, anti-Zuma protests were held across South Africa, including in front of the Gupta estate in Johannesburg.

Financial transactions

In October 2016, the South African Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan stated in court documents that the Guptas were implicated in "suspicious transactions worth R6.8 billion". The court documents were filed as part of a high court application explaining why the Minister of Finance could not intervene on the Gupta's behalf to require that South African banks continue to provide services to Gupta-owned companies. The documents stated that South African banks were alarmed by the financial dealings of 14 Gupta-owned businesses and discontinued services to the family to avoid possible legal implications. The Gupta's lawyers publicly disputed Gordhan's statement and stated that a number of errors were made including that a number of the disputed transactions regarding one of the financial dealings, the Optimum mine, occurred when the mine was not yet under the control of the family. On 18 August 2017, the North Gauteng High Court dismissed Gordhan's court application seeking declaratory relief from having to intervene with the banks' decisions to close the bank accounts of the Oakbay investments. An investigation by the South African-based amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism alleges that the Guptas benefited from a number of state contracts using their political connections through a sophisticated system of financial dealings totalling up to R144 million (US$10.6 million) in only one six-month period. A report compiled by the

South African Council of Churches The South African Council of Churches (SACC) is an interdenominational forum in South Africa. It was a prominent anti-apartheid organisation during the years of apartheid in South Africa. Its leaders have included Desmond Tutu, Beyers Naudé an ...

and South African academics stated that R40 billion (equivalent to US$3 billion) was illegally smuggled out of South Africa to Dubai by the Gupta family and their associated companies between 2011/12 and 2017. The money having allegedly originated from South African parastatials such as South African Airways, Eskom and Transnet. The Gupta family has filed an interdict against its last remaining bank in South Africa, the

Bank of Baroda Bank of Baroda (BOB or BoB) is an Indian public sector bank headquartered in Vadodara, Gujarat. It is the second largest public sector bank in India after State Bank of India, with 132 million customers, a total business of US$218 billion, ...

, to prevent it from closing their accounts at the bank. The Bank of Baroda did this after flagging 36 suspicious transactions on Gupta linked accounts over a ten-month period valued at R4.2bn and amid accusations of the bank helping the family

launder money Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...

. On 4 September 2017 the Bank of Baroda was fined R11 million (equivalent to US$837,000) by the South Africa Financial Intelligence Centre for flouting anti-corruption laws in transactions on accounts owned by the Gupta family. By September 2017 two international and four South African banks had closed Gupta linked accounts they had held due to suspicious transactions.

American investigations

In October 2017, it was reported that the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

had opened an investigation into Gupta nephews Ashish and Amol, who are

US citizens Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constitu ...

, resident in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, as a result of payments received from a Gupta-linked company in the

. On 16 February 2018, two days after Zuma had stepped down as president of South Africa, Ajay Gupta was declared a

fugitive from justice A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also kno ...

by South African authorities after failing to turn himself over to the authorities. This was later withdrawn by the National Prosecuting Authority after all charges against Ajay Gupta were dropped. The US Treasury imposed sanctions on the Gupta family and an associate for engaging in "widespread corruption and bribery" in October 2019.