Farming firm used to channel millions

ESTINA‚ the company that ran the Gupta-linked Vrede Dairy Farm Project, had only R9 000 in its bank account before the first payment of R34-million was deposited into it by the Free State Department of Agriculture.

Court papers filed by the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit last week in support of a preservation order have now shown that the project was nothing more than a looting ground for the Gupta family and their associates – and that little to no oversight was exercised by the department over how the funds were being spent.

The Bloemfontein High Court granted the order to freeze assets amounting to R220-million and the Krynaauwlust Farm in Vrede in the Free State on Thursday.

Atul Gupta is one the individuals whose personal bank accounts are affected by the order.

The court papers reveal R10-million of the funds paid to Estina for the dairy farm was paid into his personal bank account.

This is the first time evidence has emerged of Gupta benefiting financially from questionable deals with state departments or entities.

All told, the AFU has found that of the R220-million given to Estina for the project‚ only R2-million was actually spent on the farm. The rest was all siphoned off to the Gupta family and their associates.

The order affects several individuals and Gupta-owned companies‚ including Kamal Vasram‚ Oakbay chief executive Ronica Ragavan and Oakbay investments‚ Islandsite Investments‚ VR Laser Services‚ Linkway Trading and Westdawn Investments. Eugene Nel has been appointed as curator of the assets and must within 40 days file a report containing a detailed inventory of the assets, and those affected now have 90 days to fight the order or allow their assets to be seized and sold off to recover the funds.

According to the papers‚ a total of R220-million was paid into three bank accounts controlled by Estina over a 29-month period between April 2013 and May 2016.

Attached to the application is an affidavit by Samson Schalkwyk‚ a financial investigator with the NPA, who reveals that “through the entire process of the initiation of the Vrede Farm project to the point where the department paid funds to Estina‚ there was apparent collusion between Estina’s and the department’s officials.

“The project was used as a conduit through which money was siphoned off from the department and into the accounts of parties who had no interest in farming.”

Estina then transferred the money to the various companies and individuals.

Leaked Gupta family e-mails revealed that President Jacob Zuma’s son‚ Duduzane‚ has interests in several of these Gupta businesses.

The move is part of a crackdown on state capture and the second such preservation order to come to light this week.

The Asset Forfeiture Unit of the NPA hopes to recover R50-billion spread across 17 cases – six of which are before the courts, according to acting AFU head advocate Knorx Molelle‚ who revealed the staggering scope during a live interview on eNCA.

Included are the Gupta-linked Trillian, and McKinsey.