R24.9 million of public money is back under scrutiny. The revival of the Nulane Investment corruption case returns the Free State’s citizens to the question of whether they will ever see accountability for funds spent in their name, as seven accused, among them businessman Iqbal Sharma, his company Nulane Investments, Gupta-linked associates and several former Free State agriculture department officials, head back toward trial after the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned their acquittal.
The case centres on an alleged R24.9 million scheme tied to the controversial Vrede dairy farm project, long a test of whether the justice system can trace public funds that moved through state capture-era deals.
On Wednesday, the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court postponed the matter to 20 January 2027 for a pre-trial conference at the Bloemfontein High Court, as the State prepares to pursue the case following the appeal court’s ruling. SCA Judge Cagney John Musi handed down judgment in June 2025, favouring the state’s bid to reinstate the matter. National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the authority’s Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) reinstated the case on 4 June, following the SCA ruling.
The accused are Sharma and Nulane Investment; former head of the Free State Department of Agriculture Peter Thabethe; former head of the department Limakatso Moorosi; the department’s former Chief Financial Officer Seipati Dhlamini; Ronica Ragavan and the company she represents, Islandsite Investment, owned by the Guptas; and Dinesh Patel, Sharma’s brother-in-law.
At the heart of the allegations is a claim that the accused acted in common purpose in the irregular payment of R24.9 million by the Free State agriculture department to Nulane Investment, a Gupta-linked company, to conduct a feasibility study for a flagship “Mohoma Mobung Project”. That study led to the establishment of the Vrede/Estina Dairy Farm project, an initiative that has drawn sustained public scrutiny for its dependence on state resources.
Investigations found that Nulane contracted Deloitte to conduct the study and paid the firm R1.5 million, a fraction of the R24.9 million it received from the department. It is alleged that the only change to the Deloitte report was the identification of Paras Dairy as a suitable implementing partner to develop a milk processing plant in Vrede. For the public, the gap between what was paid and what was delivered sits at the centre of the case’s significance.
Meanwhile, the case carries weight beyond the Free State. It was the first state-capture case from IDAC to be brought to trial, making its progress a measure of the prosecuting authority’s ability to convert investigations into courtroom outcomes. It is also the same case in which the South African government failed to extradite Atul and Rajesh Gupta from the United Arab Emirates; the two brothers faced charges of fraud and money laundering.
The road ahead remains long. With the matter postponed to 20 January 2027, the accused will return to court only after a further delay, and the public will keep waiting for a full accounting of the R24.9 million at the centre of the scheme. The SCA’s decision to revive the case restores the prospect of a trial that could test the conduct of former department officials and private actors alike in a deal meant to serve the public interest.
Further coverage of the case and the appeal ruling can be found at https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/courts/nulane-corruption-case-revived-sharma-gupta-associates-court-r24-9m-deal/