Guptas offered deputy finance minister R600 million to “work with us”

The Sunday Times reports that Ajay Gupta allegedly offered deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas up to R600 million to follow orders relating the the procurement of a R1 trillion nuclear deal.

The paper reported that the Gupta’s allegedly offered Jonas the job of finance minister with a black refuse bag containing R600,000 in cash at the family home in Johannesburg last year.

Gupta also allegedly said he would pay Jonas R600 million if he agreed to “work with us”.

In late February 2016, Jonas rocked South Africa by issuing a statement confirming reports that the controversial Gupta family had met with him and had offered him the position of finance minister – prior to former minister, Nhlanhla Nene, being fired.

The deputy minister’s claims are contained in an affidavit submitted to former public protector Thuli Madonsela who last week published a much contested report on state capture.

The report was due to be released last Friday, however, President Jacob Zuma, and David van Rooyen, the minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs applied for an interdict to block Madonsela from releasing a report.

Van Rooyen has since asked for his application to be withdrawn,while the president’s application will be heard in the High Court in Pretoria on November 1.

The Gupta’s lawyer Gert van der Merwe has denied any such meeting took place.

Further, in an interview in June, Ajay Gupta denied allegations of state capture and said he had never met with Mcebisi Jonas.

“Mr Jonas is a respectable deputy minister of the country. By oath, I can say I have never seen him in my life.”

Read the full article in the 23 October edition of the Sunday Times.