Bloemfontein - The Hawks say they are not fazed by Ajay Gupta's statements that they are not facing criminal allegations in any part of the world, and described it as a way of testing the waters.
Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said in a telephone interview on Wednesday that they are investigating serious criminal charges against the controversial Gupta brothers and that the long arm of the law would soon catch up with them.
“Let him rant and rant… We are not worried about his statements,” said Mulaudzi.
This follows Ajay's interview with Indian media shown on eNCA from his hometown of Saharanpur where the Gupta family is said to be preparing for a religious ceremony.
In the interview, Ajay dismisses talk of any criminal allegations against him or Atul "in any part of the world" saying no authorities had approached him to indicate any charges.
But Mulaudzi dismissed it as mere talk, adding that he should return to South Africa if he is confident he has no case to answer.
“He is trying to find out what’s in the docket. The lawyers have also tried to get us to tell them what’s contained in the docket but we won’t do that. The courts have also told them they are not implicated and can therefore not be told what’s contained. We can only tell the accused,” said the Hawks spokesperson.
Mulaudzi chuckled at Ajay’s statements he was only making the Hawks popular across the world, adding Ajay is being investigated for charges relating to state capture.
He said if Atul returns to the country, he will also be arrested as he is facing charges relating to the Vrede Integrated Dairy Project in the Free State.
“If he lands in the country at any time, we are going to arrest him,” he stressed.
A nephew to the Gupta brothers, Varun, was granted permission by the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court last Friday to attend the ceremony. Varun is facing criminal charges relating to the Vrede Integrated Dairy Project where millions of rands meant to benefit emerging black farmers in the Free State were allegedly misappropriated.
He was charged on February 18 together with seven other people. He approached the court seeking a relaxation to his bail conditions. This was after the investigating officer in the matter objected his request to travel abroad saying he had not met part of his bail conditions which required him to give notice of his travel plans at least six weeks in advance.
The court eventually ruled that although Varun had not complied with one of his bail conditions in terms of the notice period, it was only fair to allow him to travel as the state had not come up with charges against him.
He was ordered to return to South Africa by no later than May 27.