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NEW DELHI: In their life that reads like a rags-to-riches story, Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh Gupta have invited several controversies in and outside South Africa.
The brothers are said to have had a humble beginning in Saharanpur of Uttar Pradesh, where the family had a small business. Some reports suggest that they were influenced by their father’s observation that “South Africa is the next US”.
They moved to South Africa in the early 1990s where they set up a company, called Correct Marketing. Soon came Sahara Computers.
Later, their umbrella of Sahara Systems, selling computers and its accessories, started flourishing. Around 1997, the company reported a turnover of Rs 97 million with about 10,000 employees on its rolls.
The company then started diversifying into other sectors like mining, air transport, energy, technology, media operations, etc. During their journey in South Africa’s economic development, the Gupta brothers started developing a bond with the then President Jacob Zuma.
The budding relation, and the fact that they were immigrants reaping the proverbial gold in South Africa, did not go well with the locals. Various allegations were thrown at the family, but the detractors were not able to hurt them till Zuma was in power.
In 2018, the brothers had to leave South Africa when reports started coming in of an investigation to be conducted by a judicial commission. This came following Zuma’s forced resignation owing to corruption charges.
Since then, the brothers are said to be staying in the United Arab Emirates.
