THE R37,7 million fraud case against Gupta associates has been postponed to 30 November for a pre-trial.
The two associates of the Gupta brothers, Kamal Vasram and Saliesh Indurjeeth, made a brief appearance in the Tshwane Regional Court today, 27 September.
They’re facing charges linked to the failed Estina Dairy Farm Project in the Free State.
Their charges include fraud and the contravention of Section 54(1)(A) of the International Trade Administration Act and contravention of Regulation 22 of the Exchange Control Act.
These charges arise from a joint investigation by SARS and the NPA’s Investigating Directorate.
According to Investigating Directorate spokeswoman Sindisiwe Seboka, their investigation into the matter revealed that Estina submitted customs clearance documents (SAD 500 and invoice) in support of a VAT refund claim.
She said the customs declaration was then scrutinised, whereupon the declared value of more than R37,7 million for a so-called new pasteurisation plant was suspected to be excessively high.
“The suspected overpriced pasteurisation plant, which was imported from India, was rather invoiced to Estina by Gateway Limited in the United Arab Emirates,” she said.
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She added that the evidence that is already in the public domain suggests that Gateway was used and controlled by the Guptas, as a conduit to launder money and to extract funds from South Africa.
“The state further alleges that the overstated or inflated value was intentionally and unlawfully used by Estina and its sole director, Vasram, to launder funds from South Africa to the prejudice of the tax paying public in general,” she said.
Seboka said while the pre-trial has been set for November, the main trial will be held from 27 to 30 March next year.
