Interpol asked to assist with execution of arrest warrants for Guptas while four other appear in court over R24 million fraud
3 June 2021
Former Transnet Board member and business partner to Gupta associate Salim Essa, lqbal Sharma, and three former senior Free State government officials appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrates' Court today, on charges of procurement fraud involving R24 million, paid by the Free State Department of Agriculture (FSDoA) to Nulane Investment 204 (PTY) LTD, a company owned and controlled by Sharma.
From there the funds were diverted to Islandsite Investments 180 (Pty) Ltd (Islandsite), a company owned and controlled by the Gupta family.
In the charge sheet handed in at court today, the State alleges that lqbal Sharma and former Free State head of Department for Rural Development (FSDoRD), Peter Thabethe; former head of FSDoA, Limakatso Moorosi; and former FSDoA Chief Financial Officer, Seipati Dhlamini; colluded to divert funds earmarked for rural development in the Free State. These funds were then placed at the disposal of the Gupta family.
The R24m was purportedly paid to Nulane to conduct a feasibility study for the Free State's flagship Mohoma Mobung project, on the basis that Nulane had unique skills to perform the work.