Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit) has revealed that a notorious South African money launderer, Mohamed Khan, also known as “Mo Dollars”, was behind three companies that were key players in the Gupta family’s state capture of South Africa’s funds under former President Jacob Zuma. The companies, Varlozone, Zokubyte and Coral General Traders, were identified by the Zondo Commission set up by the South African government to investigate state capture, fraud, and corruption by the Gupta family, but the commission had been unable to identify the persons behind the companies. The discovery of Khan as the key figure in this network was made by Al Jazeera’s four-part investigative series into several gold smuggling and money laundering gangs operating in Southern Africa. The Gupta family, which became synonymous with state capture under Zuma, were accused of using a systematic web of corruption to plunder the country’s funds. In 2018, the Zondo Commission was established to investigate these allegations, and it identified the three companies as conduits for fraud and the capture of state funds. According to whistleblower Dawood Khan, Mohamed Khan’s brother and former employee, “That payment was done by Mohamed” with regard to transfers made on behalf of the Guptas. Mohamed Khan, who has worked for gold smuggler Simon Rudland, has also been accused of bribing employees in several South African banks to help with his money laundering operation.
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