JOHANNESBURG, Aug 5: The coal and uranium mining operations of the controversial Indian-origin Gupta family in South Africa are to be sold off after its owners left the country amid increasing allegations of their irregular dealings with state departments.
GoIndustry Dovebid, the business rescue practitioners of the Gupta-owned Optimum Coal Mine, Optimum Coal Terminal and Koornfontein Mines, said that eight offers had been received for the assets of these companies, which were put up for auction last month.
The offer included disposing of the coal mine assets-allocation at the Richards Bay Coal Terminal.
The company will facilitate meetings between the major creditors and the prospective buyers, after which creditors will vote on a proposed business rescue plan that could return at least some of their investments.
Analysts said that the prospective buyers were probably lured by the opportunities that the Optimum Coal Mine presented for operating well beyond 2030. The mine also supplies an electricity-generating company.
The three Gupta brothers have been accused of misusing their relationship with former president Jacob Zuma to secure lucrative deals.
The entire family, originally from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, has since relocated to Dubai.
Zuma resigned as president in February last year after huge outcries over his alleged involvement in corrupt and illegal activities that left a number of government departments bankrupt. He was replaced by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who was subsequently re-elected during the national election. (PTI)
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