Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Saturday, Aug 23, 2025

Ex-South African Minister Cleared Of Charges In Gupta Family Citizenship Case

Ex-South African Minister Cleared Of Charges In Gupta Family Citizenship Case

The Public Protector, however, said that the minister did not abuse his power while approving early naturalisation to the Gupta family.

A former South African minister was on Monday cleared of multiple allegations that he abused his power while granting early naturalisation to members of the controversial Indian-origin Gupta family.

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane found that former Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba breached the executive ethics code by failing to table names in Parliament of persons who were granted citizenship under exceptional circumstances within the provisions of the South African Citizenship Act.

The Public Protector, however, said that the minister did not abuse his power while approving early naturalisation to the Gupta family.

"I welcome the key finding of the Public Protector's report which clears me of the baseless allegations which were, partly, relied upon to hound me out of Cabinet, in November 2018. I shall not be commenting on the rest of this report until I have consulted with my lawyers," Gigaba,49, tweeted.


Gigaba has been accused at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, set up by President Cyril Ramaphosa, of having received large sums of money from the Guptas during several visits to their palatial former home in Johannesburg.

Gigaba granted the citizenship to Ajay Gupta and other members of the family after recommendations from senior members of his department.

Mkhwebane has recommended that appropriate action be instituted against four of these senior officials, who were involved in the naturalisation of the Gupta family, for their failure to exercise due diligence.

They had recommended to Gigaba that the naturalisation be granted because of the family''s business investments, as well as the large number of jobs they had created for South Africans, among other factors.

"It was established that the verification process ... revealed material misrepresentations and inaccuracies with the information contained in the motivation, relied upon by the former minister, in approving and granting the certificates for naturalisation to Mr Ajay Gupta and family," the Public Protector said in her report.

Originally from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, the Gupta family amassed a fortune in IT, media and mining industries over the past two decades in South Africa, allegedly through their closeness to former president Jacob Zuma, who himself is facing corruption charges.

The bulk of Guptas'' assets in South Africa are expected to be auctioned off to repay creditors as the brothers had fled to Dubai.

The three Gupta brothers - Ajay, Atul and Rajesh - and their families went into self-exile in Dubai after allegations surfaced of their companies illegally siphoning billions of rands from South African parastatal companies through their alleged closeness to former President Zuma.

The South African government has initiated extradition processes for them to return to face a wide range of charges related to alleged corruption after a number of people came forward at the Zondo Commission.

The South African Parliament recommended in March 2019 that the citizenship granted to the Guptas be revoked.

The Public Protector also found that Gigaba misrepresented facts after he said at a media conference in March 2016 that Atul was not a South African citizen. Gigaba corrected this at another media briefing the very next day.

Since Gigaba had resigned from his position in November 2018, Mkhwebane said there would be no purpose in seeking remedial action against him.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×