The Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services has confirmed that it has received information from law enforcement authorities in the United Arab Emirates that fugitives of justice, namely, Rajesh and Atul Gupta have been arrested.

Discussions between various law enforcement agencies in the UAE and South Africa on the way forward are ongoing.

An extradition process of the two men is expected to begin soon, but it’s likely that the Gupta’s will challenge it.

The Defend Our Democracy campaign says the arrests of the Gupta brothers is a significant development.

The campaign says if the Gupta brothers are to be successfully extradited to South Africa to face charges, this would be an important victory for the many civil society organisations and ordinary citizens who have consistently called for justice and accountability.

A number of political parties have welcomed the arrests of the Gupta brothers.

The DA says it hopes that this is the beginning of further arrests and prosecution of those who have looted the country for years.

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse – OUTA – says the arrests of the Gupta’s prove the naysayers wrong, and that finally people will be held accountable for state capture.

OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage says many people said the Gupta’s would never be arrested, and this should give South Africans renewed hope.