NPA’s Gupta action was too little and too late
THE National Prosecuting Authority had all the time in the world to act against the Guptas, but it couldn’t and didn’t.
It was captured by former president Jacob Zuma and the Guptas, and had its wings clipped. Despite mounting evidence that the master crooks were looting state coffers in broad daylight, and despite intense pressure from the media and the public, the NPA dithered, procrastinated and dragged its feet, reluctant to act decisively against Zuma’s bosom buddies.
But as soon as Zuma was forced out of office, the Hawks swooped down on the Gupta compound at Saxonwold, but it was too late; the Guptas had flown away safely to Dubai and India.
It’s a repeat of the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and former Zimbabwe first lady Grace Mugabe sagas. Why allow the thieves to flee and then enter into elaborate extradition negotiations to bring them back?
The Asset Forfeiture Unit seized all their luxury cars and a helicopter – to the value of R180 million – but it was a drop in the ocean compared to the vast fortune they had amassed through crooked means and stashed away in foreign bank accounts.
In any case, the NPA suffered a humiliating setback when the Gauteng High Court ordered the Assets Forfeiture Unit to return the assets to the Guptas, because there was insufficient evidence presented in court that the assets were obtained improperly or illegally.
To our dismay, the Guptas had won round one.
In an attempt to ward off criticism and save his job, NPA boss Shaun Abrahams also ordered his men to raid the Estina Dairy Farm in the Free State, which was reportedly a front to siphon off state funds.
But again the courts came to the rescue of the thieves and ordered the NPA to return the stolen money to Atul Gupta and others due to the lack of compelling evidence.
Undeterred, the NPA went for the Gupta-owned Optimum Coal Mine and other business ventures, but yet again the courts ruled the NPA’s actions were illegal.
It sounds stupid, but that’s the law. A thief can steal, but the state has to follow the due process of the law to prosecute him successfully.
I have serious doubts the Guptas will ever face justice. T MARKANDAN
Silverglen