State Capture witness details how Guptas laundered money through Estina even before milking Vrede dairy project

Gupta brothers Ajay and Atul. File photo

Gupta brothers Ajay and Atul. File photo

Published Dec 3, 2020

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A WITNESS on Thursday told the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture that the fugitive and controversial Gupta family began laundering money through Estina more than a year before the dairy project started.

London researcher Paul Holden, of Shadow World Investigations, told commission chairperson Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo that the Free State provincial government made the first payment to Estina in June 2012 but the movement of money through the company began as early as May 2011.

”Estina was effectively being used as a front for money laundering by the Gupta enterprise a full year before the initiation of the dairy project,” Holden said.

Evidence leader Matthew Chaskalson asked Holden whether Estina used to launder funds for the Guptas even before the dairy project.

According to Holden, from about 2010 to 2014, the Gupta enterprise partnered with a group of companies, Worlds Window Group, which is based in India.

He said the Worlds Window Group engaged in quite a substantial amount of money laundering both in South Africa and abroad using various companies.

Holden also testified about the use of the Gupta wedding in May 2013 to launder proceeds of the Estina dairy project.

Chaskalson said: “What we are seeing here is US$1.347 million (over R20.5m) of the Free State public funds that go to Estina, then to Gateway, then to Accurate that then pay for the Sun City wedding”.

Holden said this did not necessarily mean all of that money was spent on the Sun City wedding, where several current and former Cabinet ministers were guests.

”What it did do is create a paper trail through which Linkway could present to its auditors, who are KPMG, saying this is why we have this money coming in is because Linkway Trading provided services at the wedding,” he explained.

Gupta lieutenant Ashok Narayan, who Holden described as the family’s on the ground, administrative or point person, was the director of Linkway Trading, one of the entities that received a very large amount from the Estina project and that was invoiced against the costs of the Sun City wedding.

Narayan also ran Vargafield which received just under R60m from the Estina project.

”If you look at the Linkway accounts you see suddenly a vast number of expenses relating to the wedding instead it’s disbursed to other Gupta enterprise companies. What we see throughout is that whenever the funds return to South Africa they are then whizzed around various Gupta enterprise accounts and co-mingled with other operating funds that they have,” Holden said.

He said all Gupta wedding expenses add up to R30m were entirely covered by Free State government money.

Holden will continue giving evidence on Friday.

Political Bureau

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