Gupta Family lawyer, Van Der Merwe Associates, on Tuesday released a statement on behalf of Ajay Gupta and Oakbay Investments in response to an affidavit from Pravin Gordhan.<\/p>\n
The finance minister\u00a0 on Friday launched an application in the High Court in Pretoria in the latest development in the ongoing drama around the Gupta family and their alleged abuse of state resources.<\/p>\n
The papers contain details of \u201csuspicious\u201d bank transactions by Gupta-owned companies totalling almost R7 billion.<\/p>\n
Gordhan wants the court to declare that, as finance minister, he is in no way obligated to help the Guptas in their battle with South Africa\u2019s largest banks, all of whom had terminated their banking relationships with the Guptas and their companies earlier this year.<\/p>\n
On Monday, News24 published<\/a><\/strong> the full list of 72 transactions reported as suspicious or unusual as they did not relate to \u201cany apparent legitimate business transactions\u201d involving the Guptas and their companies.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Van Der Merwe Associates said in a statement<\/a> that the Gupta Family and Oakbay Investments “are delighted to have been cited as respondents to the application from the Finance Minister”.<\/p>\n “At last, the Gupta Family and Oakbay can begin to formally clear their names. They thank him for this opportunity.”<\/p>\n The statement said that Gordhan’s application is being considered by lawyers for the Gupta Family and Oakbay and will be dealt with in full – each and every entry.<\/p>\n It said that the application’s detail is fundamentally flawed as of the 72 transactions flagged, an initial analysis shows:<\/p>\n The statement said that the remaining 17 transactions (totalling R719 million) were also all for legitimate purposes “and are absolutely not suspicious”.<\/p>\n “We will disclose these transactions in full, once the full analysis has been completed,” it said.<\/p>\n All of the 72 transactions were approved and cleared by the respective banks processing the transactions, the paper said.<\/p>\n “Whilst we thoroughly welcome this application, it is undiluted nonsense and appears to be little more than the usual political games,” the statement said.<\/p>\n “To reiterate, we are delighted to have received this application. The truth always comes out in the end and we look forward to clearing our name in court,” it said.<\/p>\n Gordhan drops Gupta bomb, exposing R6.8 billion in \u2018suspicious\u2019 payments<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n
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More on the Gupta family<\/h3>\n