The High Court has ruled that former finance minister Pravin Gordhan’s bid to get a court order saying he could not get involved in the Guptas’ battle with South Africa’s banks was unnecessary.<\/p>\n
The North Gauteng High Court on Friday dismissed the case, and ordered Gordhan to pay the costs of Oakbay’s attorneys.<\/p>\n
In the judgement, the Court said that there was clearly no legal basis for Gordhan to get involved with the banks – and he knew it – so his case to this effect was unnecessary.<\/p>\n
Gordhan launched the court bid in 2016 after he claimed that the Oakbay group of companies were putting pressure on him to force South Africa’s banks to re-open Gupta accounts after the family was blacklisted.<\/p>\n
Standard Bank, FNB, Absa and Nedbank shut down Gupta accounts in mid-2016, following allegations that the Gupta family had been orchestrating state capture in the country. The family has been blacklisted by many financial institutions in the country, since.<\/p>\n
In response, the family through its Oakbay companies appealed to the government to get involved and launch an investigation into the banks.<\/p>\n
The government complied with the request, and launched a ministerial committee – led by mining minister Mosebenzi Zwane, public enterprises minister Lynne Brown and then-finance minister, Gordhan – to probe the matter.<\/p>\n
Gordhan, however, took exception to the Guptas’ request and being called to be a part of the probe, and sought a declaratory court order stating that he – as finance minister – could not intervene in the matter.<\/p>\n
He argued that National Treasury cannot intervene in the private relationship between South African banks and their clients, and provided evidence to the court \u2013 highlighting \u2018suspicious\u2019 transactions made by the Gupta companies, totaling over R6 billion \u2013 to back up his position.<\/p>\n
The evidence was submitted to show that the local banks had enough reason to raise red flags about the Gupta companies, and thus had their own reasons for blacklisting the family. This evidence was subsequently scrapped by the presiding judge and struck from the roll.<\/p>\n
What followed were several back-and-forth affidavits between Gordhan and the Gupta companies, where the latter group accused the then-finance minister of playing a political game, and of corruption.<\/p>\n
Oakbay, and the Guptas, said that they had never ordered Gordhan to get involved, and agreed he was fully within his rights to say no – making the court battle a waste of time.<\/p>\n
Friday’s ruling made it clear that Gordhan was aware that he had no legal mandate to intervene – hence his refusal to take part in the ministerial probe – and said that the banks could have approached the courts if they felt the probe was trying to affect any private relationship with their clients.<\/p>\n
Gordhan was removed as finance minister on 30 March, in a midnight cabinet reshuffle by president Jacob Zuma, replaced by Malusi Gigaba.<\/p>\n