Shamila Batohi, the director of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said on Monday that a formal extradition request for the Gupta brothers has been made to the Central Authority in the United Arab Emirates.
Last month, the brothers were detained in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The South African government is seeking them in relation to allegations of fraud, corruption, and money laundering.
The request, which was made in both English and Arabic, “addresses the broad requirements for extradition, which, if met, would allow the extradition to be granted under either the current Extradition Treaty or the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), or both,” according to Batohi.
In a statement to the media in Pretoria, Batohi claimed that a multidisciplinary team within the NPA was in charge of the legal aspect of the procedure and collaborated intently and effectively with the Office of the Director General of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, which is the Central Authority (CA) for extradition processes, to prepare and complete the application.
In close cooperation with the CA’s office, the NPA team “worked tirelessly and concentrated on complying with the legal requirements of the Extradition Treaty and UNCAC,” according to Batohi.
The formal application request for the arrest and extradition of the Gupta brothers has been submitted, according to Batohi, marking a significant step in the NPA’s determination to hold those responsible for State Capture accountable and preserve the rule of law.
It “reaffirms our resolve to be the people’s lawyers and pursue collective justice for our nation,” stated Batohi.
She said the NPA would keep working with its counterparts in the UAE to ensure that the Gupta brothers were extradited to South Africa to face justice as the process developed and the extradition application was heard in UAE courts.
We are prepared to keep working to bring justice because the nation demands it of us, she said.
At the same press conference, Ronald Lamola, minister of justice and correctional services, expressed his confidence in the ability of the teams handling the extradition of the Gupta brothers and other well-known accused individuals.
“The matter is currently with the central authority in the UAE, who will process it in their jurisdictions when a court has decided whether or not to extradite the Gupta brothers to South Africa.
The UAE’s Minister of Justice will then have to decide, according to Lamola.