All Vrede charges dropped
The legal representatives of the accused in the Vrede Dairy criminal case are adamant the case will not see the inside of a court room again.
This is after the case against members of the controversial Gupta family and associates, as well as three government officials, was formally withdrawn from the Bloemfontein Magistrate court roll on Tuesday .
The accused faced a string of charges including fraud, money laundering and corruption related to the Vrede based project which was meant to benefit upcoming farmers.
OFM News spoke to Advocate Michael Hellens, who represented many of the accused and says the case was flimsy from the get-go.
Following the brief court appearance, Hellens told OFM News his clients feel vindicated yet hurt, but that they are not worried about future prosecutions.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) on the other hand, says the investigators will continue to engage with law enforcement in the United Arab Emirates and India to obtain all the outstanding information.
The NPA hopes this may present it with an opportunity to reinstate the charges.