Gordhan now takes the lead role in her fight: their common target is the relationship between Zuma and the Gupta family...
Before leaving her job Madonsela completed a lengthy investigation into claims that Zuma's ties to the Guptas amounted to undermining the state institutions...
Also on 14 October Gordhan filed an affidavit with the Pretoria High Court that some US$480 million of transactions by the Guptas had broken the country's financial regulations (AC Vol 57 No 1 Guptas' export drive1)...
He wants the Court to issue an order declaring that he cannot interfere with the decision by commercial banks to close down the accounts of the Guptas' holding company Oakbay Investments...
How all this plays out will depend on what happens to Madonsela's and Gordhan's reports on the political influence of the Guptas...
Madonsela's report was compiled after lengthy interviews with high-level whistle-blowers including senior government officials who accused the Gupta family of choosing cabinet ministers who would weaken the Treasury's fiscal controls...
Since Zuma and the Guptas attempted to appoint a compliant Finance Minister last December pressure has mounted to push through a massive nuclear deal widely deemed unaffordable and to secure coal and uranium supplies for the Guptas' companies to supply state entities (AC Vol 57 No 4 Zupta Inc...
Gordhan's court application on 14 October argues that he could not interfere with the banks' decision to suspend the Guptas' accounts because to do so could have exposed the banks to fines for contravening laws on transparency and combatting money-laundering organised crime and terrorism...
Between February and April there was a flurry of activity among some 70 accounts belonging to the Guptas their friends and associates...
) relate to the Optimum Coal mine in Mpumalanga which was sold to the state-run electricity utility Eskom and then to the Guptas once its price had collapsed...
By citing the banks as respondents in the case Gordhan's application has also enabled the commercial banks the central bank and financial authorities to release details of the transactions carried out by the Guptas' company Oakbay whose CEO Nazeem Howa resigned on 17 October...
During the investors' meeting which was held under Chatham House rules to protect the identities of those present the ANC veteran explained in detail how the Gupta brothers had benefited from taking over some state decision-making in return for propping up Zuma and his family...
He predicted that Zuma would go to any lengths necessary to block the report by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela on the Guptas' financial transactions (AC Vol 57 No 4 Zupta Inc...