US imposes sanctions on Gupta brothers, associate Essa

The US Treasury yesterday sanctioned the three Gupta brothers at the centre of the corruption scandal that contributed to the downfall of former President Jacob Zuma, saying they had misappropriated state assets.

The US decision to impose financial restrictions on the brothers is a public relations victory for Zuma’s successor Cyril Ramaphosa as he tries to clean up politics and attract foreign investment to lift South Africa’s flagging economy.

The relationship between Zuma and the three brothers – Ajay, Atul and Rajesh – is one of the main areas of focus of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, which Zuma was pressured into setting up before he was ousted by his own party in February 2018.

Zuma and the Guptas deny the corruption allegations and law enforcement officials have yet to nail down a convincing case against the brothers – fuelling public frustration with government attempts to crack down on graft.

“The Gupta family leveraged its political connections to engage in widespread corruption and bribery, capture government contracts, and misappropriate state assets,” Sigal Mandelker, the US Treasury’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control restrictions on the brothers and business partner Salim Essa mean US citizens are prohibited from doing financial transactions with them or entities they control.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the restrictions demonstrated Washington’s commitment to promoting transparency, accountability and the rule of law.

Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said it was critical that the country confronted corruption.

Rudi Krause, a South African lawyer for Ajay Gupta, said yesterday that he was preparing a statement. Atul, Rajesh and Essa could not immediately be reached for comment last night.