Dubai court rejects extradition request for Gupta brothers over documentation

South African authorities can resubmit request with new documents

Dubai Courts turned down South Africa's extradition request for Atul Gupta, above, and his brother Rajesh. AP

A Dubai court has rejected South Africa's request to extradite Atul and Rajesh Gupta due to insufficient legal documentation.

Dubai Police arrested the Gupta brothers in June after Interpol had issued a Red Notice against them for allegedly looting billions from state-owned companies in South Africa.

The arrests came after the UAE and South Africa signed an extradition treaty in 2018, which was ratified in 2021.

Following their arrest, South African authorities submitted an extradition request based on two cases of money laundering, fraud and corruption.

The Ministry of Justice said in a statement that the Dubai Court of Appeal rejected the request following a “comprehensive and thorough legal review process” that found the documents submitted were not in line with the extradition agreement between the UAE and South Africa.

The ministry said that based on the extradition treaty, the charge of fraud should be accompanied by a copy of the arrest warrant order. However, the submitted documents for the two accused were cancelled arrest warrant orders.

Also based on the treaty, the charge of corruption should be accompanied by a copy of the arrest warrant order, the court said. The ministry said the “submitted documents are free of the arrest warrant order of the two accused for the charge of corruption”, which also failed to meet the extradition conditions.

The ministry said it received the original extradition file from South African authorities on November 29, after holding several meetings.

The extradition request was referred to the prosecutors to investigate the accused concerning the charges levelled against them.

After a comprehensive investigation, the file was referred to the Court of Appeal, which held three hearings before issuing its decision.

“At every step, UAE judicial authorities briefed their South African counterparts on proceedings,” the ministry said in its statement.

South African authorities can now resubmit the extradition request with new and additional documentation, the ministry added.

On Friday, Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Minister of Justice, spoke by phone with his South African counterpart Ronald Lamola to discuss the ruling on the extradition request.

The three Indian-born brothers, Ajay, Atul and Rajesh, are accused of using close ties with former South African president Jacob Zuma to siphon off billions of rand in state funds and influence Cabinet appointments.

Interpol placed Rajesh and Atul Gupta on its most-wanted list. They are sought by the authorities in South Africa on charges of money laundering and fraud, Bloomberg reported in February.

Once ranked among the country's most prominent businessmen, the South African authorities accuse the Guptas of being at the centre of a web of state corruption during Mr Zuma’s rule, during which the government estimates more than 500 billion rand ($32.3bn) was stolen from its coffers.

The Gupta brothers deny any wrongdoing and have fought the application of the Red Notices, saying they are the victims of a political witch hunt in South Africa.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration first asked the Emirati authorities to extradite the Gupta brothers in 2018.

In 2019, the US also imposed restrictions on the family. These range from visa bans to asset freezes. The UK followed suit a year later.

The brothers, all in their 40s, moved from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in India to South Africa in 1993 as apartheid was coming to an end.

Their family business, Sahara Computers, was soon established and elevated the Guptas to become one of the country's richest families within two decades.

By 2016, Atul Gupta was reported to have an estimated wealth of $773.47 million (Dh2.8 billion).

The Guptas fled South Africa shortly after Mr Zuma resigned from the presidency in February 2018.