Ajay Gupta has denied meeting Mcebisi Jonas, calling the deputy finance minister “blatantly dishonest”.
Jonas made headlines last year with an allegation that he was offered the finance minister’s job at a meeting at the Guptas’ home in Saxonwold in October 2015.
READ MORE: Jonas is a blatant liar, says Ajay Gupta in court papers
Ajay also claims that Jonas’ own testimony to then Public Protector Thuli Madonsela contradicts the public allegations.
He said he was not at liberty to share in what way the testimony was contradictory, but added that the Public Protector was free to release the evidence she had.
Gupta got Duduzane Zuma, one of President Jacob Zuma’s sons, as well as Fana Hlongwane, who were at a meeting with Jonas that day, to swear in separate affidavits that he was not there.
Both these affidavits have a typing error that shows the meeting was held in October 2017.
The affidavits were filed in the case brought by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan to get the courts to declare that he could not intervene in the Guptas’ banking troubles.
Gupta said he was “disturbed by allegations he [Gordhan] presented as fact without even attempting to obtain a confirmatory affidavit from his deputy, who is, in all likelihood, occupying an office right next to him”.
Gupta said it “is evident that the ‘incident’ with Mr Mcebisi Jonas was created in order to support the wave of adverse media attention”.
ALSO READ: Gordhan's Gupta battle comes to a head
The incident “never occurred”, he repeatedly stated.
“Let me ... clearly and unambiguously state under oath that I have never met Mr Mcebisi Jonas.”
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