Two Gupta associates linked to Estina dairy project granted bail following arrest

The Pretoria Regional Court has granted two associates of the Gupta brothers R10,000 bail each who are directly linked to the failed Estina project.

Kamal Vasram and Saliesh Indurjeeth were arrested on Monday night and appeared in court on Tuesday morning.

The matter has been postponed to 11 February.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said that Vasram, at the time, was the sole director of Estina during the commission of the alleged offenses.

The arrest follows an investigation by the South African Revenue Service (Sars) and the NPA’s Investigating Directorate into the affairs of the Estina dairy project.

The investigation established that Estina submitted customs clearance documents, in support of a VAT refund claim.

The NPA’s Sindisiwe Seboka explains: “The customs declaration was then scrutinized and it was found that it was not the true value, the R37.7 million, of the pasteurization plant.”

She added that it was also found that there was a misrepresentation in terms of where the suspected overpriced pasteurizing plant came from.

“We had initially stated that it was imported from the United Arab Emirates, however, through investigation it was found that it was, in fact, imported from India,” Seboka said.

-EWN

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