Director-general of the justice department advocate Doctor Mashabane said on Friday they only just learnt that the Guptas are citizens of Vanuatu in the Pacific islands.
“In the communication we received, the judgment makes reference to the Guptas being citizens of a country called Vanuatu in the Pacific islands.
“This was a new development for us because previously their status was that they were carrying South African citizenship.
“I think that this is a critical development as well that the UAE court recorded them as being citizens of Vanuatu.”
According to the UN, Vanuatu is a culturally and linguistically diverse nation of 83 volcanic and coral islands in the South Pacific, located 1,750km east of northern Australia and 1,200km west of Fiji.
About 80% of Vanuatu’s population of an estimated 300,000 people live in rural areas. It is considered the world’s most at-risk nation for natural disasters.
Since the state capture scandal, several of the Guptas' assets in South Africa have been frozen by the state, including a private jet, their mansion in Saxonwold, Johannesburg, and one in Constantia, Cape Town.
They left South Africa for Dubai after being wanted in South Africa to face criminal charges on two matters — the so-called Nulane and Estina cases.
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Guptas are now citizens of Vanuatu
Image: Kevin Sutherland
Director-general of the justice department advocate Doctor Mashabane said on Friday they only just learnt that the Guptas are citizens of Vanuatu in the Pacific islands.
“In the communication we received, the judgment makes reference to the Guptas being citizens of a country called Vanuatu in the Pacific islands.
“This was a new development for us because previously their status was that they were carrying South African citizenship.
“I think that this is a critical development as well that the UAE court recorded them as being citizens of Vanuatu.”
According to the UN, Vanuatu is a culturally and linguistically diverse nation of 83 volcanic and coral islands in the South Pacific, located 1,750km east of northern Australia and 1,200km west of Fiji.
About 80% of Vanuatu’s population of an estimated 300,000 people live in rural areas. It is considered the world’s most at-risk nation for natural disasters.
Since the state capture scandal, several of the Guptas' assets in South Africa have been frozen by the state, including a private jet, their mansion in Saxonwold, Johannesburg, and one in Constantia, Cape Town.
They left South Africa for Dubai after being wanted in South Africa to face criminal charges on two matters — the so-called Nulane and Estina cases.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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