South African prosecutors on Monday announced a key step in their bid to extradite Indian-born brothers who were allegedly at the centre of a massive web of corruption.
The three Gupta brothers -- Ajay, Atul and Rajesh -- are at the centre of a long-running probe into the embezzlement of state assets under former president Jacob Zuma.
In a statement, the prosecution authority's chief investigator, Hermione Cronje, said Interpol had issued a "red notice" against two of the brothers, Atul and Rajesh.
Red notices are a global alert enabling law enforcers to arrest a person sought for prosecution or serving a sentence and detain them pending extradition.
The three brothers are at the centre of a 2016 graft report by South Africa's anti-corruption watchdog, which claims they paid bribes in exchange for massive state contracts and influence ministerial appointments.
They fled South Africa shortly after a judicial commission started in 2018 and are suspected to be in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Last month South Africa said it was close to finalising an extradition treaty with the UAE.
The third brother, Ajay, who is not named in the red notice, is part of a separate case, Cronje's office said.
His siblings Atul and Rajesh Gupta are being sought in connection with a 25-million-rand ($1.76 million / 1.48-million-euro) contract paid to a Gupta-linked company, Nulane Investments, to conduct an agricultural feasibility study, it said.
The red notice also applies to Atul Gupta's wife, Chetali.
The alert came as Zuma sought to avoid jail after he was sentenced to 15 months in jail for contempt after failing to appear before anti-corruption investigators.
In 2019, the US Treasury slapped sanctions on the Guptas, effectively freezing their assets under US jurisdiction, and forbade Americans -- particularly international banks with any US operations -- from transactions with them.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
CBI To Seek Interpol Notice Against Trafficking Network Members Pushing Indians In Russia War Zone Interpol Issues Red Corner Notice Against Wanted Khalistani Terrorist Karanvir Singh 12 Children Among 74 Killed In Fire In South Africa's Johannesburg Nurse Raped, Killed On Way Home, Body Found 9 Days Later In UP Rahul Gandhi's Seat At Red Fort Triggers Fresh Congress Attack On BJP "Don't Expect Anything From Me": Kolkata Hospital's New Principal Loses Cool Israel To Build New Jewish Settlement Between Jerusalem, West Bank: Report Woman, 22, Gang-Raped In UP, 5 Men Detained: Cops Delhi Prisons Announces Remission For 1160 Convicts On Independence Day Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.