FOLLOWING the recommendations of the State Capture Commission, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) lodged a forfeiture application for Gupta shares in the Optimum Coal Mine and Optimum Coal Terminal.
The application was made on Friday, 1 July and the shares are worth over R3,4 billion. Investigating Directorate spokeswoman Sindisiwe Seboka said the application to have the shares owned by Tegeta Exploration and Resources forfeited to the state was made on the grounds that they were acquired through the proceeds of unlawful activities.
She said work already done by the NPA resulted in a preservation order being handed down on 23 March by the high court in Tshwane.
“The court ruled on two interlinked matters. The first pertains to all Gupta-owned Tegeta shares in Optimum Coal Mine and Optimum Coal Terminal,” she said.
She said the second order was in relation to Templar Capital’s R1,3 billion stake in Optimum Coal Mine, which was purchased with money advanced by companies controlled by Ajay Gupta’s son, Kamal Singhala.
She said Daniel McGowan, the owner of Templar, had himself stated under oath that the funds advanced by Griffin Line, a Gupta company, derived from money stolen from the South African government and laundered via Singhala on behalf of his father and wider family members.
Deputy national director of public prosecutions Ouma Rabaji-Rasethaba said this was one of the many ways the NPA was looking to recoup the proceeds of state capture, as recommended in the Zondo Commission's report.
