Two senior prosecutors with the NPA said they can’t use the “Guptaleaks” emails to prosecute those implicated as they were obtained illegally, the City Press reported.
Emails to and from the Gupta family and high-profile political figures were leaked to journalists earlier this year. The mails lead to numerous reports on government scandals and kickbacks.
The prosecutors said to use the emails would require them verifying their authenticity and determining how they were obtained.
“One of the concerns is that they may have been tampered with,” said the prosecutors. Another challenge is that the evidence remains with the suspects.
The former National Director of Public Prosecutions, Mxolisi Nxasana, told the City Press there is nothing stopping prosecutors from approaching a judge for a section 205 subpoena to get copies of the emails, however.
Tech companies
Major tech companies implicated in questionable dealings with the Guptas include:
- SAP, which allegedly paid a Gupta-linked company nearly R100 million in kickbacks for contracts from state-owned enterprises.
- Neotel, which allegedly paid kickbacks to a Gupta-linked company for Transnet contracts.
- T-Systems, where questions have been raised about the company’s contracts with Eskom and Transnet.
- Software AG, which was implicated in offering kickbacks to Gupta-controlled companies.
- McKinsey, which allegedly struck a deal with Trillian Capital Partners for a large Eskom contract.
However, one of the senior NPA prosecutors speaking to the City Press said people must “just chill”.
If any action is taken against those implicated, it will only happen in at least two years.
