Those implicated in state capture should be nervous

LAST week, something extraordinary happened: the US Department of the Treasury stepped into the state capture fray, blacklisting three Gupta brothers and one of their associates, Salim Essa, for their involvement in corruption in South Africa.

A press statement on the US Treasury’s website stated: “The Gupta family leveraged its political connections to engage in widespread corruption and bribery, capture government contracts and misappropriate state assets.

Treasury’s designation targets the Guptas’ pay-to-play political patronage, which was orchestrated at the expense of the South African people,” said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

Essentially this means that the Guptas and Essa can’t do business with American entities outside or inside the US. For the Guptas, who are believed to be currently resident in India, the blacklisting must have come like a bolt out of the blue.

The Guptas and their associates have not been convicted of any crime despite a mountain of evidence against them from the Gupta leaks and subsequent inquiries at Parliament and the ongoing commission chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

After almost a decade of being hollowed out, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and SA Revenue Service (Sars) are under new leadership, and like National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi told Parliament yesterday, the organisation still faces major internal and external obstacles in operating optimally and prosecuting those implicated in corruption.

What the US Treasury has shown is that it will not wait for the NPA to take action against those accused.

In the wake of those sanctions imposed against the Guptas and Essa, former British MP and anti-apartheid campaigner Lord Peter Hain has called on the British government to take similar action, and don’t be surprised if this is replicated in Brussels.

While some might criticise the “unilateral actions” of the US, these are the same people who use their stolen loot acquiring assets and engaging in commerce in places like the US.

Those who are implicated in state capture should be nervous; they can no longer use a dysfunctional South African justice system as proof of their innocence.

The world is watching.