Justice Minister Ronald Lamola has revealed that the South African government are yet to made a significant breakthrough in their attempt to prosecute the Guptas.

Ajay, Atul and Rajesh are the three bothers who orchestrated a network of state capture during the Jacob Zuma administration, and weekend reports suggested their chickens were coming home to roost.

The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services @RonaldLamola will hold a media briefing at 2pm today to update the public on important developments pic.twitter.com/5AhFIFynzU — South African Government (@GovernmentZA) December 16, 2019

UAE visit is more ‘paperwork’ than crime-busting:

But Lamola has had to pour cold water on suggestions that a South African delegation will be returning home with the Guptas in chains.

Instead, he revealed that he and his colleagues are heading to Dubai to engage in various bilateral matters at a United Nations anti-corruption conference in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). We might not be getting some cuffed-up crooks, but it does seem Lamola and co will put the pressure on their counterparts:

“It’s not like we are going to Dubai with a suitcase to go and fetch the Guptas. But the government will meet with UAE authorities over ratification of extradition agreement with Dubai. Then all the papers will be on the table for law enforcement to do their job.” Ronald Lamola

Chasing the Guptas – where we are at

On Sunday, we reported that top cabinet ministers and high-ranking law enforcement officials are flying out to Abu Dhabi this week. They are effectively on a mission to persuade the UAE to repatriate the corruption-fuelled Guptas to South Africa, so they can be hauled across the coals for their patronage.

Lamola explained South Africa’s position on the Guptas back in October. He has confirmed that an international collaborative effort is underway to find out if the brothers can be brought back to the shores of Mzansi to face a criminal investigation:

Two of the world’s biggest superpowers – China and the US – have already agreed to provide us with mutual legal assistance to take down the Guptas. The latter ended up blacklisting the Indian billionaires from all financial activities within their country, striking one of the most devastating blows to the elusive money men.