Two mansions in Johannesburg’s Saxonwold neighbourhood that once served as meeting grounds for the Gupta family are back on the market, carrying asking prices of R7 million and R8 million respectively.
Saxonwold Mansions Return to the Market After Stalled Private Sale
The properties form part of a compound central to South Africa’s state capture scandal, featuring prominently in investigations into the India-born trio of businessmen at the centre of the nation’s severe political and economic crisis following the apartheid era. The seven-bedroom house where the family allegedly lived boasts an indoor swimming pool, a thatched outdoor entertainment area, a mini cricket pitch, water features, and a garden populated with endangered cycad plants. Immediately adjacent sits an 11-bedroom home equipped with a beauty parlour, a cinema lounge, and a rooftop terrace.
These listings follow a failed private sale last year. At that time, both properties alongside a neighbouring three-bedroom home were sold for roughly 46% below their municipal value before that transaction ultimately fell through. Kurt Knoop of Manci Knoop Financial Services, the business rescue practitioners for the Gupta-linked company Confident Concept, noted the persistent hurdles in offloading the assets.
“We’ve been battling to find buyers due to the stigma associated with the properties, and because of the poor state they’re in,” Knoop said, adding that discussions with interested parties are ongoing in hopes of securing a sale soon. Proceeds generated from the sales will go toward settling claims made by creditors.
The Legacy of State Capture and Ongoing Legal Battles
The Zondo Commission, which ran its investigations into graft involving more than 1,400 individuals and entities from 2018 to 2022, heard testimony detailing how Atul, Rajesh, and Ajay Gupta hosted influential guests at the Saxonwold properties. Visitors were allegedly offered kickbacks and government positions to help the family and their associates shape state decisions and secure lucrative government contracts.
The Gupta brothers fled to Dubai in 2018 shortly before the African National Congress forced then-president Jacob Zuma to step down to stem mounting electoral losses linked to his association with the family. Both the Guptas and Zuma have consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Legal efforts to bring the brothers to account have met significant hurdles. Atul and Rajesh were placed on Interpol’s most-wanted list, faced sanctions from both the US and UK governments, and were arrested in the United Arab Emirates in 2022 on charges including money laundering and fraud. However, a UAE court denied South Africa’s extradition request in 2023, resulting in the cancellation of that arrest warrant. South Africa had previously withdrawn its arrest warrant for Ajay in 2019.
Prospective buyers planning to attend an open house scheduled for the upcoming weekend must present valid identification and proof of funds before gaining entry to view the properties.
