Gupta associate Iqbal Sharma denied bail
Businessman and Gupta family associate Iqbal Sharma has been denied bail by the Bloemfontein Magistrate Court.
The bail application of Sharma resumed on Tuesday morning. He will be back in court on 5 July 2021.
Sharma is amongst 15 accused who are facing charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering relating to R24.9 million that Free State Department of Agriculture paid for a feasibility study for potential farming projects in the province.
Magistrate, Estelle De Lange says the fact that Sharma will hand over his passports does not mean he cannot flee.
De Lange says the applicant did not satisfy the court with sufficient evidence that he wonāt flee the country.
On Friday, the Bloemfontein High Court granted an order to freeze assets of Iqbal Sharma, his company Nulane Investments and Islandsite Investments.