Bank accuses Guptas of political campaigning
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, the big four commercial banks and Gupta-owned companies will have to wait a little while longer for a resolution to their dispute.
The Minister approached the courts for a declaratory order that he cannot intervene between the companies and South African banks - who closed all Gupta owned companies' accounts about a year ago.
Over the two days the court heard arguments from 10 different legal councils - including the minister, the banks, and the Gupta family and their companies.
The dispute relates to the authority of the minister to intervene in a bank's decision to close a business' accounts - with the minister maintaining he is legally not allowed to do so and wants a court order to this effect.
Standard Bank's Vincent Maleka criticised Gupta-owned Oakbay for taking this fight into the public domain.
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"The key issue is this: You have the group of companies who have avoided well-established institutions to resolve a dispute it has with the banks. Instead it has expressed concerns and engaged in politcal campaigning," Vincent Maleka told the court.
Gupta-owned company Sahara dug into the minister's motives behind this application.
The legal battle between the Guptas and Gordhan will resume today when an urgent application will be heard regarding the family's plan to purchase the Habib Overseas Bank.