OUTA urges NPA to instruct Asset Forfeiture Unit to stop Guptas moving assets offshore

31 July 2017 - 17:53 By Timeslive
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Brothers Ajay and Atul Gupta. File photo.
Brothers Ajay and Atul Gupta. File photo.
Image: MARTIN RHODES

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) wants the National Prosecuting Authority to instruct the Asset Forfeiture Unit to prevent the Guptas moving assets offshore.

The civil action organisation also wants the NPA and the Hawks to involve civil society in their investigations.

OUTA said on Monday it welcomed the NPA’s decision to set up a task team to investigate allegations and perpetrators of corruption and fraud as purported in the many cases and charges linked to state capture.

But OUTA chairperson Wayne Duvenhage said: “We will be writing to the NPA and the Hawks to request that they involve civil society in their investigations‚ as we have already conducted in-depth investigations and laid criminal complaints which are backed up with substantive evidence and facts.

“Furthermore‚ we believe that with the NPA’s decision to form its task team‚ we believe this signals its awareness that the issues raised about corruption and state capture are significant and‚ if this is indeed the case‚ we now urge the NPA to exercise its powers by instructing the Asset Forfeiture Unit and other mechanisms of authority to prevent the flow of assets from ill-gotten gains of corruption being moved off-shore.”

Duvenhage added that OUTA was on record as accusing the state of being too slow to take action‚ and now that it had indicated its plans to get started‚ OUTA believed the state should move with haste while not jeopardising the quality of the process.


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