



In the latest #GuptaLeaks reports, email correspondence shows that KPMG, Gupta-owned Linkway’s auditors, were well aware of many of the key details surrounding the Guptas’ Sun City wedding.

The leaked emails reveal that the Free State provincial government largely picked up the tab for what was described at the “event of the millennium” by KPMG Africa then-chief executive Moses Kgosana.

KPMG were the auditors of the Guptas’ Linkway Trading (Pty) Ltd.

According to AmaBhungane and Scorpio, Linkway played a crucial role in allowing the diversion of cash earmarked for the Free State’s Vrede dairy project to reimburse most of the wedding expenses – R30-million to be exact.

The trail apparently shows that the money went from the Free State Provincial government to Dubai and then came back to South Africa to pay for the wedding at Sun City, and also saw guests landing at the Waterkloof air-force base.

Allowing Linkway to account for the wedding as a “business expense”, KPMG ensured that the Guptas paid zero taxes on their Free State government windfall, according to amaBungane.

Stephen Grootes spoke to amaBhungane investigative journalist Sam Sole.

Sole explains.

Essentially the Free State government set up a programme to create dairy farm in Vrede in the Free State, a company called Estina was brought in. We thought Etsina was a front for the Gupta's, they denied it but now the leaks show they were deeply involved and that a large chunk f the money that was paid by the Free State government that money was was immediately siphoned off to Dubai to a company controlled by the Gupta's called Linkway. Sam Sole, amaBhungane investigative journalist

...and through various other companies they laundered much of it back to South Africa including R30 million to pay for the wedding expenses at Sun City. Sam Sole, amaBhungane investigative journalist

We can see now this is the Gupta's big shop window for their power and influence in South Africa, where they brag to the rest of the world about who they could get to come to this really opulent and extravagant event and then they cashed in after that. Sam Sole, amaBhungane investigative journalist

He explains Mineral Resource Minister Msobenzi Zwane's role in this.

He was minister of agriculture, the person who pushed through this project. He went on a jaunt to India at that time at the cost of the Gupta's. His office was the one that paved the way for the Gupta landing at Waterkloof, saying some of the people on that plane were part of an official delegation to the Free State. Sam Sole, amaBhungane investigative journalist

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