Justice department to engage Indian officials following arrest of Ajay and Anil Gupta

Ajay Gupta (pictured) and Anil Gupta were arrested in Dehradun, India, for their alleged involvement in the death of a prominent builder. (Gallo Images/Business Day/Martin Rhodes)

• Ajay Gupta and Anil Gupta were arrested on Friday for their alleged involvement in the death of a prominent builder in Dehradun, India.
• The Department of Justice and Correctional Services says it will communicate with Indian officials for “possible engagement”. 
• The Gupta family has faced numerous legal challenges and investigations, both in South Africa and internationally, for its alleged corruption and money laundering.

The Department of Justice will hold engagements with officials in India following the arrest of Ajay and Anil Gupta on Friday for their alleged involvement in the death of a prominent builder in Dehradun.

Department spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said authorities were aware of the reports of the Gupta bothers’ arrest. 

“The [Department] of Justice and Correctional Services has noted reports of the arrest of two Gupta brothers, Ajay and Anil, in India. Our arrest warrants were for Rajesh and Atul Gupta, nevertheless formal processes are under way through the High Commissioner in India to verify and for possible engagement,” he told News24. 

According to the Times of India, Anil and Ajay were arrested on charges of abetment of suicide after Satinder Singh Sawhney named them in a suicide note before he plunged off the terrace of a seven-storey apartment. 

The two were arrested by the Dehradun police on Friday. Anil is married to Achla, the sister of the Gupta brothers.

Speaking at an ANC rally at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola clarified that Gupta family members had indeed been arrested in India, but they were not the ones South Africa issued an warrant of arrest for.

Lamola said he was not sure whether those arrested were related to the Rajesh and Atul, who left South Africa for Dubai while numerous legal challenges and investigations, both in South Africa and internationally.

The Guptas have been accused of large-scale corruption and political influence over former president Jacob Zuma.

Their assets in South Africa have been subject to freezing orders, and they have been involved in legal battles to release those assets. Several countries have expressed concerns or taken actions regarding the Guptas due to allegations of corruption and money laundering.

In April, National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi said South African authorities faced challenges in extraditing Atul and Rajesh back to South Africa from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to face charges, including fraud and money laundering, related to state capture.

South Africa’s extradition request to the UAE was rejected in April 2023, and Batohi said follow-ups to discover the reasons for the request denial had not been satisfactorily responded to by their Middle Eastern counterparts.

“We have been trying very hard to find out some very basic things like what exactly [is] the problem with our extradition request. We’ve not had satisfactory responses from the UAE.

“We’ve been trying to … set up a meeting with the national director and the head of the prosecuting authority in the UAE in order for us to understand this, [but] we’ve not been able to schedule that meeting for months,” she said.

-Additional reporting by Amanda Khoza