Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele said on Thursday there is no guarantee that Atul and Rajesh Gupta will be brought to South Africa following their arrest in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Gungubele briefed the media on the outcomes of Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting.

“I wouldn’t say there is a guarantee because that is not a simple process by the way,” he said.

Gungubele explained while negotiations between the UAE and South Africa were under way, until they were concluded, the South African government did not know whether the Gupta brothers would be extradited to face charges.

The brothers fled South Africa to Dubai following Jacob Zuma’s recall as President in 2018. The government has said at least R500-billion was stolen during Zuma’s nine-year presidency.

The kingpins behind State capture during Zuma’s Presidency were arrested as a result of an Interpol Red Notice issued at the request of the South African government earlier this year.

“I will be surprised, taking into account the principles and the code of the Interpol Red Notice, because Interpol is to make sure that countries work together in dealing with crime, I will be surprised if it does not lead to [the Gupta brother’s] coming to South Africa. I will also be surprised if they are not arrested on the basis of exactly what they did in South Africa,” said Gungubele.

RAMAPHOSA’S FARM THEFT

Gungubele said Cabinet had given the go-ahead to law enforcement agencies to investigate the theft of an alleged $4-million from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Limpopo farm.

Former spy boss Arthur Fraser has laid criminal charges against Ramaphosa for allegedly contravening the Prevention of Organised Crime Act for failing to report the theft in 2020.

Fraser alleged that $4-million was stolen and that the thieves were kidnapped, interrogated and paid to stay silent about the ordeal.

Gungubele said Cabinet would deal with the matter when there was clarity on the outcomes.

“We were briefed because already the matter of the robbery in the President’s precinct is under the law enforcement agencies, they are actually investigating the matter. Financial institutions are investigating the matter and the approach is that let’s leave it to all those institutions until we are clarified what the outcome is going be, then we can actually cross that bridge when we reach it,” said Gungubele.

Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema has called on Ramaphosa to take a leave of absence and step aside as per the rules of the African National Congress, to allow for investigations into the matter.

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has started a probe into whether Ramaphosa violated the Executive Members Ethics Act after a complaint was laid against him by African Transformation Movement leader Vuyolwethu Zungula for allegedly breaching the code by not reporting the robbery.