Gupta affiliates travel to India

BAIL CONDITIONS ALLOW ACCUSED TO LEAVE COUNTRY

Gupta affiliate and former Sahara chief executive Ashu Chawla isn’t the only accused in the Vrede Dairy Project criminal case to have recently travelled abroad.

Spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in the Free State, Phaladi Shuping, said a nephew of the Gupta brothers, Varun Gupta, and acting chief executive officer (CEO) of Oakbay Investments Ronica Ragavan have also travelled outside of the country following their last appearance in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court last month.

Shuping said Chawla and Gupta informed the investigating officer of their intention to go to India on August 21.

They both left the country a few days later, indicating they would be back in the country by the end of November. Ragavan has already returned from her trip abroad.

Chawla’s absence from parliament’s inquiry into the naturalisation of the Gupta family prompted questions as to his whereabouts and whether he had violated his bail conditions.

The NPA said the accused did not violate their bail conditions by going abroad.

Magistrate Collin Nenkosi had relaxed the bail conditions for the accused in the Vrede Dairy Project criminal case on August 21, as agreed with by the accused’s legal counsel and the NPA.

The accused had previously been required to report to their nearest police station twice a week and now only have to report once a month. They have to report international travel plans to the investigating officer, who is in possession of their passports.

They do not have to report domestic travel plans.

The state was yesterday granted their request of a postponement by Nenkosi, who ruled the state must finalise its investigations and provide the accused with the finalised docket by the end of November, or the matter could be struck off the roll.

In May, Varun Gupta applied to travel to India for a religious ceremony.

His request was granted by the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court and he was told to return to South Africa on May 27. – OFM News