STATEMENT BY BRETT HERRON, GOOD SECRETARY-GENERAL
GOOD WELCOMES THIS ANNOUNCEMENT
3 June 2021
We welcome the announcement by the National Prosecuting Authority that it has requested Interpol to help execute arrest warrants to have the Guptas, their wives, and several business associates deported to South Africa to face charges of fraud and money-laundering.
An Interpol Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.
While the Guptas and associates are sought in respect of the Estina Dairy Farm prosecution, relating to the misappropriation and money laundering of about R24 million, we know that the Guptas are alleged to have fleeced our country of billions of Rands.
Arresting the Guptas won’t solve South Africa’s crisis of corruption but will send an important message that there are consequences for those who have been stealing with impunity – even those with friends in high places.
The sooner we get them under arrest and back on South African soil to answer to these charges and allegations the sooner those who continue to loot public funds will get the message that their days of crime are numbered.
Good South Africans will hope to see more and swifter action from the NPA to corral the criminals who threaten our future. May the issuing of the Red Notice for the Guptas signify an important step in that direction.
It is also an important symbolic step to reassure South Africans that their are consequences for breaking the law – and that there is nowhere in the world for those who steal from us to hide.