South African authorities have frozen the assets of the notorious Gupta brothers and issued a Red Notice for their arrest.
A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.
At the height of allegations of corruptly coining it from illicit government deals, the Gupta brothers – Ajay, Atul, and Tony – left South Africa in a huff.
The brothers are believed to be holed up in Dubai.
On Friday the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said it had placed a Gupta Constantia property under restraint.
The Cape Town upmarket house previously owned by Mark Thatcher – the son of former UK Prime Minister Margret Thatcher – is worth about R22 million.
The NPA also swooped on assets belonging to alleged Gupta lieutenant, Iqbal Sharma.
The NPA said it had seized Sharma’s Sandton house in Johannesburg known in some circles as the “oasis in the middle of the city”.
Formerly a South African government official in the Department of Trade and Industry, Sharma was arrested on Thursday and has been denied bail.
The NPA said it had also seized a Gupta property in a Johannesburg, suburb, Saxonworld, and other assets that include jewelry and artworks
The NPA said it has asked Interpol to assist in arresting Rajesh Gupta, Atul Gupta, and their wives. They are wanted for fraud and money laundering.
Investigating Directorate head, Hermione Cronje said: “Along with the criminal prosecution, we will make every effort to retrieve the funds intended for service delivery.”
If the accused are found guilty of defrauding the Free State government through a dodgy empowerment deal involving poor Dairy farmers, their assets will be not be returned to them.
A guilty verdict will see these assets estimated at R520 million confiscated by the state as “proceeds of crime”.
