In court proceedings on Tuesday, it was revealed that the company and Ragavan have been formally added as accused in the case which centres around the R 24, 9 million Vrede Dairy feasibility study, which the state says was the prelude to the overall looting that took place in the controversial dairy project under the Mohoma Mobung initiative.

The long-time Gupta employee and ally has, via her senior legal counsel, Willem Edeling, requested that the warrant be held over to 8 October, when the Vrede feasibility study criminal case returns to the same courthouse due to “an illness” that she has.

Edeling says Ragavan has presented the state with a medical certificate to that effect.

State prosecutor, Peter Serunye, did not object to the request from Ragavan and as such the matter was postponed to next week where Ragavan will join her co-accused, in the dock.

Tuesday’s court proceedings come amidst an article by the Daily Maverick on Ragavan’s most recently submitted 54-page affidavit, in which she proclaims Atul and Rajesh Gupta’s innocence in the case.

The affidavit pertains to a draft restraint order granted to the National Prosecuting Authority’s 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.

The other accused in this 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 out on bail of between R10 000 and R500 000 following their respective arrests.

In 2011, the Free State Agriculture Department paid over almost R 25 million to Nulane Investments, which was owned by former Transnet board member, Sharma for the Vrede feasibility study. Nulane – represented by Sharma’s brother-in-law Dinesh Patel – then negotiated and subcontracted the same feasibility study out to forensic auditing firm, Deloitte, for R 1,5 million.

They went further and subcontracted the work already carried out by Deloitte to Gateway Limited and paid them R 19 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 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.

OFM News