Johannesburg - South Africa's Gupta
brothers, three businessmen friends of President Jacob Zuma, are
being subjected to false corruption allegations which are part
of a "blatantly political campaign" to damage them, a family
spokesperson has told BBC News.
Last month, local media began releasing a flood of stories
about the alleged influence Gupta-owned companies have over
government decisions after the leaking of more than 100,000
documents and emails from inside the Gupta commercial empire.
The stories based on the leaked emails have drawn several
international firms into a scandal that has also divided the
ruling African National Congress (ANC) and prompted senior
politicians to call for Zuma's resignation.
The Gupta-owned companies or family members have not
previously responded to the latest accusations that they use
their close relationship with Zuma to win government contracts
and influence cabinet appointments.
"There are many false allegations circulating about Oakbay
and its shareholders, which are part of a blatantly political
campaign against us," Gupta family spokesperson Gary Naidoo said in
a response to questions by the BBC seen by Reuters on Thursday.
The Gupta brothers are the majority shareholders in Oakbay.
Naidoo has not responded to repeated requests by Reuters for
comment over the last six weeks since stories based on the
emails began being published.
London-based public relations firm Bell Pottinger, which
ended its work with Oakbay in April, this month fired a partner
in charge of a PR campaign in South Africa that the Deputy
President Cyril Ramaphosa and political opposition say inflamed
racial tensions.
The basis of the allegations were leaked emails that
suggested Bell Pottinger worked with Zuma's son, Duduzane, who
was then a director at an Oakbay subsidiary, to create a
"narrative that grabs the attention of the grassroots".
The communications preceded a sustained campaign condemning
enemies of Zuma and leftist elements of the ruling ANC as agents
of "white monopoly capital".
"The allegations against us that Bell Pottinger used 'white
monopoly capital', and created Twitter bots on behalf of Oakbay,
have nothing to do with Oakbay. Oakbay did not instruct Bell
Pottinger to do anything of the kind alleged," Naidoo said.
Bell Pottinger has commissioned an independent investigation
into its role in the scandal. A company source said the results
would be published shortly and would show that much of what was
being said about it was false.
"We're confident that most of the allegations against us are
false and will be demonstrated as such," the source said.
Naidoo said that racial inequality was a major problem.
"Uncomfortable truth though it may be, there is an economic
apartheid in South Africa. Our philosophy is that disruptive
companies and more competition is what South Africa needs to be
transformed."
The Gupta brothers - Ajay, Atul and Rajesh – moved from
India to South Africa in 1993 and built a business empire
spanning mining, media and technology. Many of their companies
have long-term contracts with state-owned enterprises.