South Africa seeking to extradite Gupta brothers after arrest in Dubai

theguardian.com:

Police in Dubai are coordinating with their South African counterparts to secure the extradition of two wealthy Indian-born brothers wanted by South African authorities on criminal and money-laundering charges who were arrested in the emirate on Monday.

Atul and Rajesh Gupta are accused of paying bribes in exchange for lucrative state contracts and influence over ministerial appointments during the chaotic nine-year presidency of Jacob Zuma, which ended amid allegations of systematic corruption in 2018. The brothers fled to Dubai shortly after Zuma’s fall from power.

In a statement, Dubai police said they were acting on a red arrest notice received from Interpol and coordinating with South African counterparts to secure the extradition of the two men.

The South African ministry of justice confirmed the arrests but downplayed expectations that either brother would be brought back to South Africa to face trial in the immediate future, saying only that “discussions between various law enforcement agencies in the United Arab Emirates and South Africa on the way forward are ongoing”.

The arrests will boost Cyril Ramaphosa, Zuma’s successor, but may once more highlight the problem of corruption under the ruling African National Congress party.

An inquiry headed by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo recently described how the brothers came to South Africa from India in 1993 to build a sprawling business empire and became enmeshed with the highest levels of Zuma’s government and the ANC.

In May, Zondo accused Zuma of systematic and unlawful efforts to give the Gupta brothers control of billions of dollars worth of state assets.

In a 1,000-page document, the judge also said the Guptas were the beneficiaries of Zuma’s efforts to fire competent