It was another adamant denial, in the face of a torrent of allegations of an improper relationship between the family of South African President, Jacob Zuma, and the Gupta brothers — originally from India, but who built a business empire in their adopted country over the past 20 years.
In a statement released on April 2, Zuma’s office said: “The Presidency rejects the preposterous and malicious allegation by Mr Julius Malema, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, that President Jacob Zuma carried [to the Gulf] R6 billion [Dh1.5 billion] for the Gupta family. Mr Malema’s allegation has no basis in fact. The allegations are both untruthful and defamatory.
“President Zuma recently concluded successful visits to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to strengthen bilateral trade and economic relations between South Africa and the two countries respectively.“
Later in the week, the brothers — Ajay and Atul Gupta — resigned their directorships in their company, Oakbay, as did Duduzane Zuma, the president’s son — with whom they share business interests. They took the step after major South African banks pulled their services from the company, in the hope that the financial institutions could then be persuaded to reconsider their actions. Duduzane Zuma also said he would exit his holdings in the company.
The banks have been tight-lipped about their reasons for their actions. Oakbay has said that none of the banks have told the company that it had done anything wrong.
However, on Thursday, the Banking Association of South Africa said each of them would have their own considerations — including their individual business, risk and regulatory concerns.
— P.S.