State wants more time to probe Estina debacle
State prosecutors have asked for the case to be postponed to allow them to get their ducks in a row.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says it needs more time to ensure they do not bungle the case.
The defence opposed the request of a postponement of at least three months, asking the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court to scrap it from the roll.
The judge reserved judgement until Tuesday.
The NPA’s regional spokesperson Phaladi Shuping says the postponement will allow prosecutors to interact with international role-players.
“Some of the money that is involved went into the accounts of companies that are not South African, but in overseas like India and United Arab Emirates. So for us to get cooperation from the law enforcement authorities in those countries takes time.”
The eight suspects, all with links to the Gupta family, appeared in court on Friday.
They are accused of orchestrating a graft of more than R200 million.
They face charges of fraud, theft, conspiracy to commit fraud and the contravention of several South African laws.
They allegedly were at the forefront when Estina had partnered with the Free State Department of Agriculture to establish to benefit emerging farmers in the Vrede community.
But this however did not take place.
The NPA has been under heavy scrutiny after losing various cases linked to the controversial Gupta family.
“The information that we provided in those applications (the previous cases) is not even a fraction of the information we got in the Watergate. So we still maintain that anyone that says the NPA doesn’t have a case – is making an unfortunate statement,” Shuping says.