Batohi remains hopeful of Guptas extradition despite UAE silence
National prosecutions head Shamila Batohi says the entity has done all it can to ensure the successful extradition of the Gupta brothers to South Africa.
Batohi spoke to the media shortly after the inauguration of 700 aspirant prosecutors in Silverton on Thursday.
"...at the moment there is nothing we can do. It's all in the hands of the authorities in the UAE. We did as the national prosecuting authority as the department of justice as the centre of authority working with the UAE authorities at the time, we did everything to make sure that every single box was ticked that are necessary for a successful extradition. We are now waiting to hear what the position is and sadly that is what we can do and we are very anxious to understand what is going on."
Justice Minister Ronald Lamola released a statement on Thursday morning, saying there has not been any update from the UAE on the return of the two Gupta brothers to South Africa.
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But Batohi believes they will appear in a South African court in due course.
"We are very hopeful but we have in fact, we have just recently asked the Minister to follow up with the necessary authorities in the UAE to get more information about where we are in this process and what's going on.
"In fact the minister has asked for a meeting, a telecon with the minister in the UAE to get a better understanding of what is going on.”
