Guptas squabbled for months over Sun City bill for THAT wedding

The Guptas took 19 months to settle the bill for a lavish Sun City wedding for their niece‚ reports showed on Tuesday.

The four-day extravaganza was controversial from the start‚ beginning with the landing of the family’s guest party at the Waterkloof Airforce Base.

The wedding took place from 30 April to 4 May in 2013 at Sun City’s Palace Hotel.

The amaBhungane and Scorpio investigative centres on Tuesday reported on leaked emails that reveal some of the demands made by the Guptas – and their later refusal to cough up for the hefty bill. 

The requests included the use of fireworks‚ ice rigs‚ horses‚ one waiter for every 10 guests‚ complimentary laundry services for guests and the right to bring in their own food.

More than 230 rooms were booked.

The wedding bash appears to have gone smoothly‚ the report said. But the same cannot be said for the aftermath.

To start with‚ the bill was delayed by “a substantial amount” of unreturned operating equipment‚ according to an email sent by former Sun City CEO Richard Hawkins on May 13.

Three days later‚ Sahara CEO Ashu Chawla and his team were presented with a bill during a meeting. The invoice amounted to nearly R8-million‚ covering venue hire and incidentals.

But that was just the beginning of a protracted exchange‚ which involved legal threats from both sides and a series of meetings to resolve the dispute.

A payment of R1‚290‚664.64 was made in July‚ but that was far from the end of it.

The Guptas made a further payment of R1‚021‚170 months later.

Gupta staff were still wrangling over amounts claimed by Sun City in December 2014‚ which is the last time the matter appears in the leaked emails‚ Scorpio and amaBhungane reported.