How the UAE stonewalled South Africa’s Gupta probes

By late 2016, South Africa’s long-simmering corruption crisis burst into full public view, exposing just how close the underworld had crept to the centre of power.

That was the moment that then-public protector Thuli Madonsela’s landmark “State of Capture” report laid bare how the Gupta brothers – close allies of then-president Jacob Zuma – had effectively hijacked key state institutions to loot public resources.

Two years later, a commission of inquiry she had called for was finally under way, and efforts to prosecute the Guptas were gathering pace. But Atul and Rajesh Gupta, having quietly resettled in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), were already out of reach.

Since then, South Africa’s attempts to secure their extradition through legal channels have proven fruitless.

Documents reviewed by Currency reveal that from 2018 onwards, the UAE consistently stonewalled mutual legal assistance (MLA) requests from South African authorities, requests considered “critical” by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for building cases against the Guptas and their extensive network of enablers.

At least five formal MLA requests – seeking evidence from 17 UAE-based or UAE-linked companies – went unanswered or were returned on technical grounds. The documents requested included know-your-customer (KYC) information, bank statements, shareholder details, transaction reports and account records for four key Gupta shell firms: Gateway SCB, Global LLC, Accurate SCB and Fidelity Enterprises.

Despite citing clear violations of South African anti-corruption, organised crime and money-laundering laws, the NPA reported that “the most important issue” was the “failure by the UAE to execute requests for mutual legal assistance”.

MLA requests are a cornerstone of transnational criminal prosecutions, particularly in complex financial crimes involving cross-border asset flows and shell companies. In the absence of subpoena power across jurisdictions, South African prosecutors were legally dependent on the UAE’s co-operation to obtain admissible evidence, which was critical to building a case back home. 

And without the evidentiary backbone provided by these MLAs, South Africa couldn’t meet the legal standards required to trigger lawful extradition.

The UAE’s response – or lack thereof – was described by South African officials as “the absence of any assistance” and of the “deepest concern” in their efforts to combat what the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture later confirmed was a vast and systemic corruption project.

Thin-skinned diplomacy

Internal communications and meeting records from 2020 paint a troubling picture of diplomatic friction. A key meeting between the two governments, attended by South African representatives from the NPA, justice department and department of international relations and co-operation, and led on the Emirati side by ambassador Saeed Alhameli, revealed UAE irritation not with legal concerns, but with media coverage.

Alhameli “bemoaned the role that the media is playing in the whole saga by making wrongful statements”, according to notes from the meeting. The South African representatives clarified that media reports were not official government positions.

Still, UAE co-operation remained minimal. When challenged about a supposedly non-compliant MLA submission from December 2019, Alhameli admitted the only fault was that a document “was not translated into Arabic” – a requirement never previously communicated.

Even more puzzling: Alhameli had reportedly approved the same request months earlier. When asked about progress, he gave vague responses and offered to form a technical committee, which South African officials viewed as delaying tactics.

What emerged was a pattern: technical objections raised only after South Africa requested updates, and ever-moving goalposts that signalled a broader unwillingness to assist.

‘Quid pro quo’ diplomacy

South Africa had fast-tracked an extradition treaty with the UAE, anticipating future legal battles. But here, too, co-operation proved elusive. When asked directly about extradition proceedings, including those targeting two Gupta brothers, their wives and 13 associates, Alhameli again deferred, saying “the process is ongoing”, without offering any timeline or detail.

Radha Stirling, founder of the NGO Detained in Dubai, argues that the UAE rarely acts on extraditions unless it gains something in return.

“UAE extraditions often come with quid pro quo arrangements,” she believes. “If the Emirates see no benefit to the extradition, they will not surrender a wanted person.”

She cites the controversial case of Princess Latifa, where India assisted in her seizure. It so happened that the UAE processed multiple Indian extradition requests soon after – including that of a British citizen.

It’s a pattern, Stirling believes, that reflects a broader trend: the UAE may harbour high-net-worth individuals wanted abroad, while leveraging extraditions to expand its own global clout.

South Africa encountered such resistance firsthand. Despite persistent weekly follow-ups with Interpol, only a few red notices were processed. Many were rejected. The Guptas, meanwhile, argued they faced “political persecution” in South Africa and feared an unfair trial – claims often used to challenge Interpol warrants.

The UAE maintained that it was simply overwhelmed.

“It’s a small government, and it serves a lot of people,” Alhameli said, downplaying the delays.

Asked for comment last week, the UAE’s ministry of foreign affairs requested more time, but has yet to respond to questions.

Appearing before the justice and constitutional development portfolio committee earlier this month, the NPA said it will file another request to have the brothers extradited, having still not received an answer on why a previous attempt failed.

For South Africa, the road to accountability has been long and fraught. And as the Gupta files show, global co-operation is only as strong as the political will behind it.

_{Top image: Ajay and Atul Gupta (Gallo Images/City Press/Muntu Vilakazi); Rajesh Gupta (Gallo Images / Sunday Times / Kevin Sutherland); Currency collage.}