Pretoria – Fugitive Gupta brothers’ associates, Kamal Vasram and Saliesh Indurjeeth, have again appeared before the Pretoria Regional Court facing R37,7 million South African Revenue Service (SARS) customs tax fraud.
The matter heard on Thursday, (14 November 2024), emanates from importing a pasteurisation plant from India for the Estina Dairy Farm project in the Free State.
A collaborative investigation by the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption and SARS into the Estina Dairy project revealed that the duo allegedly submitted fraudulent and inflated customs clearance value.
At the time of importation, the accused Vasram and Indurjeeth claimed approximately R37,7 million for the pasteurisation plant, declared to be new while it was allegedly secondhand.
The importation of the pasteurisation plant was allegedly invoiced to Estina by Gateway Limited in the UAE, a company linked to the Gupta brothers, who fled South Africa in 2018 under a cloud of accusations of state capture.
The SARS fraud matter was postponed to 18 March 2025 for further trial, and the accused Vasram and Indurjeeth remain on R10 000 bail each.
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