Jean-Jacques Cornish

Extradition treaty with U.A.E. could allow South African authorities to get the Guptas

South Africa’s signed an extradition treaty with the United Arab Emirates.

This will enable authorities to seek the extradition of the Gupta brothers, the Indian businessmen alleged to be the architects of state capture during the Presidency of Jacob Zuma.

The  office  of Justice Minister Michael Masutha says the treaties on extradition and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters with the United Arab Emirates will enable the two countries to assist each other in the investigation and prosecution of crimes.

The Gupta brothers Ajay, Atul and Rajesh fled to the UAE city of Dubai earlier this year as criminal investigations into alleged corruption accelerated after their friend and ally, former president Jacob Zuma, lost his grip on power.

They have since been spotted in both Dubai and the country of their birth, India.

Multiple charges have been laid against members of the Gupta family.

The Guptas asked to cross examine witnesses who implicated them before the commission of inquiry into state capture headed by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

He’s refused their request to do this outside South Africa because they fear arrest if they return.

Democratic Alliance shadow minister of public enterprises Natasha Mazzone says the Guptas are fast running out of places to hide as they can now face extradition to finally answer for State Capture.

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Jean-Jacques Cornish is a journalist and broadcaster who has been involved in the media all his adult life.

Starting as a reporter on his hometown newspaper, he moved briefly to then Rhodesia before returning to South Africa to become a parliamentary correspondent with the South African Press Association. He was sent to London as Sapa’s London editor and also served as special correspondent to the United Nations. He joined the then Argus group in London as political correspondent.

Returning to South Africa after 12 years abroad, he was assistant editor on the Pretoria News for a decade before becoming editor of the Star and SA Times for five years.

Since 1999 he’s been an independent journalist writing and broadcasting – mainly about Africa – for Talk Radio 702 and 567 Cape
Talk, Radio France International, PressTV, Radio Live New Zealand, Business Day, Mail & Guardian, the BBC, Agence France Press,
Business in Africa, Leadership, India Today, the South African Institute for International Affairs and the Institute for Security Studies.

He has hosted current affairs talk shows on Talk Radio 702 and 567 Cape Talk. He appears as an African affairs pundit on SABC Africa and CNBC Africa.
He lectured in contemporary studies to journalism students at the Tshwane University of Technology and the University of Pretoria.

He speaks on African affairs to corporate and other audiences.
He has been officially invited as a journalist to more than 30 countries. He was the winner of the 2007 SADC award for radio journalism.

He’s been a member of the EISA team observing elections in Somaliland, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Egypt and Tunsiai.

In October 2009 he headed a group of 39 African journalists to the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Peoples’ Republic of China.

In January 2010 he joined a rescue and paramedical team to earthquake struck Haiti.

He is immediate past president of the Alliance Francaise of Pretoria.

Jean-Jacques is a director of Giant Media. The company was given access to Nelson Mandela in his retirement years until 2009.
He is co-producer of the hour-long documentary Mandela at 90 that was broadcast on BBC in January 2009.