Gupta charter allegedly flouted laws

SA’s air charter company Execujet has been accused of flouting international aviation regulations when it failed to declare the identity of five ‘secret’ passengers it flew to Bloemfontein last week. Onboard ZS-OPR – a LearJet 45 owned by SA mining company Delmon Mining and Civils – were the relatives and top lieutenants of the Gupta family. The flight, which took off from Lanseria airport on Thursday, was used to ferry Varun Gupta, Nazeem Howa, Ashu Chawla, Kamal Vasrum and Ronica Ragavan to Bloemfontein so they could appear in the Magistrate’s Court on charges of fraud, theft and for allegedly contravening the Organised Crimes Act and the Public Finance Management Act. A Times Select report says it has learnt that the Guptas’ Oakbay Investments asked Execujet to fly the five to court. Execujet did not have an aircraft available that day and hired ZS-OPR from Delmon Mining and Civils. Execujet, however, failed to inform the mining company who had chartered its aircraft or provide a list of passengers, as required by the Civil Aviation Authority’s regulations. Delmon Mining and Civils owner Bob Neill told Times Select they had no knowledge of the passengers or their identities.