(Bloomberg) -- A South African police investigative unit said it's conducting a search-and-seizure operation at the office of Ace Magashule, the ruling African National Congress's secretary-general and outgoing premier of the central Free State province.
The raid at his office in Free State is part of an investigation into allegations that funds allocated for a dairy and farming project in the province illicitly made their way into the hands of members of the Gupta family, who are friends with President Jacob Zuma and are in business with his son. A similar operation is also being conducted at the province's agriculture department, Hangwani Mulaudzi, a spokesman for the unit, which is known as the Hawks, said by phone.
The development is the latest sign of a renewed commitment by the authorities to clamp down on corruption since Cyril Ramaphosa succeeded Zuma as leader of the ANC last month. Last week prosecutors moved to seize assets of Trillian Capital Partners Pty Ltd., which was majority owned by an ally of the Gupta family, because of alleged unlawful payments from the state power utility.
Magashule, who oversees the day-to-day running of the ANC and is a close Zuma ally, has admitted that his son worked for the Guptas, but said there was nothing untoward in his relationship with them. Zuma, his son and the Guptas have all denied any wrongdoing.
“We must allow the Hawks to do their work,” Kusela Sangoni-Khawe, a spokeswoman for the ANC, said in an interview with Johannesburg-based broadcaster eNCA. “The matter will be brought before the courts to decide.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Arabile Gumede in Johannesburg at agumede@bloomberg.net, Mike Cohen in Cape Town at mcohen21@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Karl Maier at kmaier2@bloomberg.net, Karl Maier, Michael Gunn
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