The criminal case, centred on the R24,9 million Vrede feasibility study, resumes in said courthouse on Friday with Ragavan being revealed as the latest accused added to the case.

The director of the Gupta-owned Islandsite Investments 180, was meant to have formally applied for bail in late September,  but her senior legal counsel, Willem Edeling, requested that the warrant be held over to 8 October, due to her being ill. 

State prosecutor, Peter Serunye, did not object to the request from Ragavan and as such the matter was postponed by Bloemfontein Magistrate Smanga Nteshe. 

Ragavan was previously accused in the 2018 Vrede Dairy case, alongside seven others. The charges against all the accused in that matter were dropped.

The other accused in Friday’s matter are the former Deputy Director-General (DDG) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Transnet board member, Iqbal Sharma; the former Free State Agriculture Department Head, Peter Thabethe; current Deputy Director-General at the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Sylvia Dlamini; Bloem Water Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Limakatso Moorosi; and Sharma’s businessman brother-in-law, Dinesh Patel. They were all released on bail of between R10 000 and R500 000 following their respective arrests.

In 2011, the Free State Agriculture Department paid over almost R25 million to Nulane Investments, which was owned by former Sharma for the Vrede feasibility study. Nulane – represented by Sharma’s brother-in-law, Dinesh Patel – then negotiated and subcontracted the same feasibility study to forensic auditing firm, Deloitte, for R1,5 million. 

They went further and subcontracted the work already carried out by Deloitte to Gateway Limited and paid them R19 million. The state alleges the funds were thereafter laundered into varied accounts, including that of Islandsite Investments 180. It is for the money laundering that occurred that the Gupta family has now been linked to the case.

The state has in light of the money-laundering allegations approached Interpol to have them issue red notices for Atul and Rajesh Gupta, as well as for their wives Chetali and Arti. 

Whilst red notices for the Gupta family are under consideration, the notices have been issued for their associates former Nulane Investment Bank of Baroda account signatory, Ankit Jain;  Director of Wone Management, Ravindra Nath; the Directors of Pragat Investments, Ramesh Bhat and Jagdish Parekh. 

Ragavan’s most recently submitted 54-page affidavit, in which she proclaims Atul and Rajesh Gupta’s innocence in the case, pertains to a draft restraint order granted to the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Investigating Directorate in June 2021 seizing the assets of the Gupta family in addition to other accused.

The Guptas previously attempted to have Ragavan represent Islandsite in proceedings pertaining to the restraint order, however, their application was denied by the Free State High Court President, Cagney Musi, in light of the company being placed under business rescue. 

Musi echoed the state’s sentiments that the assigned business rescue practitioners, Knoop and Kloppers, were the only ones who could represent Islandsite in said proceedings.

OFM News