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Dubai court rejects extradition of Gupta brothers to South Africa due to insufficient legal documentation
The UAE judiciary stressed that South African authorities may resubmit their request with new and additional papers
Rajesh and Atul Gupta. File photo: Twitter/@EoAmlctf
The Dubai Court of Appeal has issued a decision stating that Atul and Rajesh Gupta — who were involved in two cases of money laundering, fraud, and corruption — cannot be extradited.
In a phone call, Abdullah bin Sultan bin Awad Al Nuaimi, the UAE's Minister of Justice, discussed the ruling with Ronald Lamola, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services of South Africa.
The rejection comes after a comprehensive and thorough legal review process, which found that the request did not meet the strict standards for legal documentation as outlined in the 2021 extradition agreement between the UAE and South Africa.
For the extradition request concerning the charge of fraud, Article 3/9 of the extradition treaty stated that the request shall be accompanied by a copy of the arrest warrant order. The documents that were submitted for the two defendants came with a cancelled arrest warrant order, thereby failing to meet the extradition conditions.
Arrested in Dubai in 2022 over money laundering and criminal charges, the Indian-born siblings were reportedly among the most "wanted suspects" in South Africa.
On November 29, 2022, the UAE Ministry of Justice received the original extradition file from South African authorities after holding several meetings. The extradition request was referred to the Public Prosecution to investigate the accused concerning the charges leveled against them.
After a comprehensive investigation, the file was referred to the Court of Appeal, which, after three hearings, issued its decision that the accused could not be handed over to South African authorities.
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At every step, UAE judicial authorities briefed their South African counterparts on proceedings.
The UAE has 45 extradition treaties in place, 37 of which are now fully ratified, with 8 pending full legal ratification.
In addition, the UAE has 44 bilateral Mutual Legal Assistance (MLAs) agreements actively in place. In 2023 alone, 30 extradition requests have been approved relating to international suspects and other persons.
The UAE remains resolute in working with its international partners to intercept, prosecute, and prevent global financial crime and is committed to transparency and procedural integrity in this regard.
Following the decision by the Dubai Court of Appeal, the UAE judiciary underscored that South African authorities are able to resubmit the extradition request with new and additional documentation.
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