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Money from the dodgy family’s assets will be used to settle debts. Eight companies are under business rescue – but what’s the point?

More than a billion rands of the Guptas’ assets are being sold off — but the state is unlikely to recover a cent from the alleged looting of its coffers by the family.

Instead, business rescue practitioners will use the proceeds to settle the Guptas’ debts. The family is said to be fighting tooth and nail against the “fire sale” of their prized assets.

At least R420-million worth of property owned by Gupta-affiliated companies has been put up for sale. The properties include several homes in the exclusive suburb of Saxonwold in Johannesburg, a seaside home in La Lucia north of Durban, a game lodge near Lephalale in Limpopo, and the former residence of Mark Thatcher in Constantia in Cape Town.

Also up for sale — to those with deep pockets — are two private jets, one of which is still stranded in Dubai.

The Mail & Guardian was unable to identify all the creditors, but the state is certainly not one of them. With no formal charges laid against the Guptas, the state is ineligible to receive the proceeds from any of the sales.

The business rescue practitioners, who came on board in February last year, had to evict the son of ANC secretary general Ace Magashule from one of the Gupta-owned houses in Saxonwold, near Zoo Lake. Tshepiso Magashule used that address as late as May this year, according to records accessed by the M&G.

In 2016 the four main banks — Standard, Absa, Nedbank and FNB — closed accounts linked to the Guptas after suspicious transactions occurred.

The business rescue practitioners say the Guptas initially appeared to welcome the business rescue operations, which could have led to the reestablishment of legitimate banking facilities in South Africa, but are now opposed to it.

Representatives of the family in South Africa did not respond to the M&G’S questions about the sales.

Among the Gupta properties on the market is the infamous compound near the Johannesburg Zoo, seen as the seat of power of the Gupta family. It was also the scene of several alleged efforts to corrupt high-ranking government officials, including former deputy minister of finance Mcebisi Jonas and MP Vytjie Mentor.

Prospective buyers should, however, be warned that the compound has lost its veneer of prestige.

A mid-week visit to the property told a story of a once powerful family in decline. The cloistered compound appeared to be abandoned, the flashy cars and heavy-set security personnel conspicuous by their absence. Beyond the large, padlocked gates, a fountain seemed to be suffering the effects of stage one water restrictions, or indeed of the enduring