Gupta Family
The Gupta family — principally brothers Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh “Tony” Gupta — migrated from Uttar Pradesh, India to South Africa in 1993 to establish Sahara Computers. Based at their Saxonwold compound in Johannesburg, they built a diversified business empire across mining (Oakbay Resources, Tegeta Exploration, Shiva Uranium Mine), media (The New Age newspaper, ANN7 TV), technology (Sahara Computers), and real estate. By 2016, Atul Gupta was the seventh-wealthiest person in South Africa, with estimated JSE-listed holdings worth R10.7 billion. The family name became globally synonymous with “state capture” — the systematic subversion of South African government and state-owned enterprises for private gain.
The Gupta–Zuma relationship began at a Saxonwold function in 2003, when the Guptas met then-Deputy President Jacob Zuma. The relationship deepened through Zuma’s 2005–2007 political struggle against Thabo Mbeki and his subsequent rise to the presidency. The family employed Zuma’s wife Bongi Ngema-Zuma and Zuma’s son Duduzane Zuma held directorships in multiple Gupta-owned companies. The family has been accused of operating as a “shadow government” — offering cabinet positions to politicians in exchange for commercial decisions favourable to Gupta interests. Multiple current and former ministers confirmed being offered ministerial posts at the Saxonwold estate: Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas (offered Finance Minister role, December 2015) and ANC MP Vytjie Mentor (offered Public Enterprises Minister role, 2010) both publicly stated they declined.
At Eskom, Gupta-linked coal company Tegeta Exploration (acquired Optimum Coal Mine in 2015 via alleged Eskom prepayments of R600m+) received a preferential R4bn+ coal supply contract. At Transnet, the Guptas allegedly influenced the appointment of executives and the award of R54bn locomotive contracts. The Zondo Commission (Vols 1–2) found the Gupta brothers directly influenced cabinet appointments with President Zuma’s knowledge, including the appointment of Mosebenzi Zwane as Mineral Resources Minister and Gupta-linked candidates to Eskom and SAA boards. Thousands of “GuptaLeaks” emails published in 2017 corroborated this co-ordination.
The family hired British PR firm Bell Pottinger to run a disinformation campaign on their behalf (2017), creating fake social media accounts and inflaming racial tensions with “white monopoly capital” rhetoric to deflect corruption allegations. Bell Pottinger collapsed in the resulting scandal. The family fled South Africa to Dubai in 2016 and definitively left after the February 2018 fall of Zuma. The US Treasury sanctioned Atul and Rajesh Gupta in October 2019. Interpol Red Notices were issued in March 2022. Atul and Rajesh were arrested in Dubai in June 2022, but the UAE formally rejected South Africa’s extradition application in April 2023 on technical grounds (SA submitted a cancelled warrant alongside a valid one). The brothers were released from UAE custody; their whereabouts are not publicly known as of late 2024. A resubmission of the extradition application has stalled — SA and the NPA cannot obtain specific guidance from the UAE on what corrections are required. As of April 2026, no Gupta has stood trial in South Africa. The Special Tribunal has recovered approximately R15 billion from state capture perpetrators broadly; Gupta-specific recovery includes the R220m Vrede Dairy Project seizure.
The Guptagate scandal (April 2013) — in which a chartered Jet Airways flight carrying 217 wedding guests landed at Waterkloof Air Force Base using President Zuma’s name — was the first major public exposure of Gupta access to state resources. The Free State Vrede Dairy Project (2013–2014), a R228m ostensible agricultural development scheme, was used to launder funds to pay for the wedding via Dubai; R220m was seized by the NPA Asset Forfeiture Unit in January 2018.
Connections
- Jacob Zuma — patron-client relationship; Guptas influenced cabinet appointments with his knowledge; Zondo Commission finding confirmed
- Duduzane Zuma — Zuma’s son; director of multiple Gupta companies; attended Saxonwold frequently
- Zondo Commission — central subjects of Vols 1–2; cabinet capture, Eskom/Transnet looting documented
- Eskom — Tegeta coal contracts; Gupta-influenced board appointments via infoportal email account (Salim Essa)
- Transnet — R54bn locomotive contracts; Gupta-linked executives appointed
- Bosasa (African Global Operations) — both were parallel corruption networks serving Zuma’s presidency
- South African Airways (SAA) — Gupta-influenced board (Salim Essa email recommending candidates including Dudu Myeni)
- State Security Agency (SSA) — Arthur Fraser ran SSA during Gupta heyday; SSA resources used to protect Gupta allies
- Gwede Mantashe — ANC Secretary-General declared Gupta state capture investigation “fruitless” May 2016
- Nomvula Mokonyane — named in Bosasa testimony alongside Gupta-era corruption network