Gupta Brothers extradition PAIA – DIRCO & SSA

On 2 May 2023 Open Secrets submitted a PAIA request to the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (DIRCO) and the State Security Agency (SSA) asking for any documentation regarding South Africa’s attempts to extradite Atul Gupta, Ajay Gupta and Rajesh Gupta (commonly known as the Guptas), as well as their whereabouts and business activities. The request was intended to help the public understand whether the government had made adequate effort to bring to account some of the biggest perpetrators and profiteers of state capture.

SSA response: On 14 June 2023 the SSA provided their official response stating that they had no documentation that related to our request. This is extremely alarming and a damning inditement of the SSA as it means that our intelligence services have not been monitoring the whereabouts and activities of the Guptas since they fled South Africa to avoid prosecution.

DIRCO response: DIRCO, after requesting an extension, subsequently referred our request to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development on 12 July 2023. The fight to obtain information regarding this PAIA request is therefore ongoing.