--- title: South Africa: Two Gupta Brothers Leave Amid Zuma Scandal description: Ajay and Atul Gupta, members of a wealthy family accused of improperly influencing President Jacob Zuma, have left for Dubai. canonical: https://time.com/4288211/south-africa-zuma-ajay-atul-gupta-brothers-dubai-scandal/ author: Mark Rivett-Carnac article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-11T08:36:05.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T16:36:56.000Z article:section: World og:title: Gupta Brothers Leave South Africa Amid Zuma Scandal og:description: Ajay and Atul boarded a private jet in Johannesburg Thursday og:url: https://time.com/4288211/south-africa-zuma-ajay-atul-gupta-brothers-dubai-scandal/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a2df51300aab2df/69888e780b72e3f0776e8e49/gettyimages-516301674.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Gupta Brothers and Duduzane Zuma speak out og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Gupta Brothers Leave South Africa Amid Zuma Scandal twitter:description: Ajay and Atul boarded a private jet in Johannesburg Thursday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a2df51300aab2df/69888e780b72e3f0776e8e49/gettyimages-516301674.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Brothers Embroiled in a Scandal Around President Zuma Have Left South Africa by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Apr 11, 2016 8:36 AM CUT  Indian businessmen Ajay Gupta, right, and younger brother Atul Gupta in Johannesburg on March 2, 2011 Indian businessmen Ajay Gupta, right, and younger brother Atul Gupta in Johannesburg on March 2, 2011Gallo Images/Getty Images by [Mark Rivett-Carnac](/author/mark-rivett-carnac/) ## Mark Rivett-Carnac Apr 11, 2016 8:36 AM CUT Two of South Africa’s three Gupta brothers, members of a wealthy family accused of improper influence over President Jacob Zuma and offering to arrange a Cabinet position, have [left](https://www.yahoo.com/news/gupta-brothers-linked-zuma-scandal-leave-africa-report-112911726.html "undefined") the country for Dubai. Ajay and Atul boarded a private jet in Johannesburg on Thursday evening, Agence France-Presse reported, just before they resigned from their business empire, which has interests in mining, media, technology and engineering. The brothers’ business associate, Duduzane Zuma, son of President Zuma, also stepped down, according to newspaper [_City Press_](http://city-press.news24.com/News/why-guptas-left-sa-20160409-2 "undefined")_._ “Following a period of sustained political attack on the Gupta family and our businesses,” read a Friday statement from the family, cited by [Agence France-Presse](https://www.yahoo.com/news/gupta-brothers-linked-zuma-scandal-leave-africa-report-112911726.html "undefined"), “we have come to the conclusion that it is time for the Gupta family to step down from all executive and non-executive positions.” Pressure mounted on the scandal-hit family of Indian immigrants in March, when, according to the [BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-22513410 "undefined"), Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas said the Guptas had once offered to promote him to Finance Minister. The Guptas have denied the allegation. The family has also been accused of exerting excessive influence over President Zuma, who has himself faced calls to step down. Opposition members [launched](http://time.com/4283315/south-african-jacob-zuma-resign/ "undefined") a failed vote to impeach Zuma on April 5, just five days after South Africa’s top court ruled he violated the constitution in a case concerning state funds that were allegedly used to upgrade his home. \[[_AFP_](https://www.yahoo.com/news/gupta-brothers-linked-zuma-scandal-leave-africa-report-112911726.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4288211/south-africa-zuma-ajay-atul-gupta-brothers-dubai-scandal/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4288211/south-africa-zuma-ajay-atul-gupta-brothers-dubai-scandal/"},"headline":"The Brothers Embroiled in a Scandal Around President Zuma Have Left South Africa","datePublished":"2016-04-11T08:36:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:36:56.000Z","description":"Ajay and Atul boarded a private jet in Johannesburg Thursday","url":"https://time.com/4288211/south-africa-zuma-ajay-atul-gupta-brothers-dubai-scandal/","keywords":["South Africa","Scandal","Dubai","Jacob Zuma"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a2df51300aab2df/69888e780b72e3f0776e8e49/gettyimages-516301674.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Rivett-Carnac","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mark-rivett-carnac/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3a2df51300aab2df/69888e780b72e3f0776e8e49/gettyimages-516301674.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Gupta Brothers and Duduzane Zuma speak out","caption":"Gupta Brothers and Duduzane Zuma speak out","creditText":"Gallo Images/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/south-africa/","name":"South Africa"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4288211/south-africa-zuma-ajay-atul-gupta-brothers-dubai-scandal/","name":"The Brothers Embroiled in a Scandal Around President Zuma Have Left South Africa"}}]}] ```