US blacklists South Africa’s Gupta family over ‘widespread corruption’
- Wealthy Indian-born family accused of involvement in bribery and misappropriation of millions in state funds
- Brothers Ajay, Atul and Rajesh are said to have profited from close links to former president Jacob Zuma
The US Treasury announced sanctions Thursday on South Africa’s Gupta business family, close friends of ex-president Jacob Zuma, calling them a “significant corruption network” that dispersed bribes and misappropriated millions in state funds.
The three Indian-born Gupta brothers - Ajay, Atul and Rajesh - are at the centre of a South African investigation into rampant corruption during Zuma’s nine-year administration.
His rule ended with a myriad of graft scandals that forced him to step down in February last year.
“The Gupta family leveraged its political connections to engage in widespread corruption and bribery, capture government contracts, and misappropriate state assets,” said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
“Treasury’s designation targets the Guptas’ pay-to-play political patronage, which was orchestrated at the expense of the South African people,” she said.
