On October 10, 2109, OFAC added members of a South African corruption network belonging to the Gupta family to the SDN List. This action was pursuant to EO 13818 "Blocking the Property of Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse or Corruption," which implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. The Act focuses on members of family businesses engaged in corruption, including bribery and misappropriation of state assets. The Guptas and their associates bribed South African officials to influence government actions and advance their own business interests. Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, stated that "[t]he Gupta family leveraged its political connections to engage in widespread corruption and bribery, capture government contracts, and misappropriate state assets." Ajay Gupta, Atul Gupta, Rajesh Gupta, and Salim Essa were added to the SDN List under the new sanctions. The OFAC press release is available here.
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