Iqbal Survé pravin gordhan media conspiracy

(In pic – President Cyril Ramaphosa with Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan) President Cyril Ramaphosa addressing Business Leaders, Government and Civil Society representing Team SA ahead the Investment conference, at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, Gauteng. 23/10/2018. Jairus Mmutle/GCIS

Pravin Gordhan denies he’s part of “political conspiracy” to gag the media

Pravin Gordhan very rarely lets accusations as big as these pass him by. The Minister has slammed Iqbal Survé for making “defamatory statements” this week.

Iqbal Survé pravin gordhan media conspiracy

(In pic – President Cyril Ramaphosa with Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan) President Cyril Ramaphosa addressing Business Leaders, Government and Civil Society representing Team SA ahead the Investment conference, at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, Gauteng. 23/10/2018. Jairus Mmutle/GCIS

Pravin Gordhan has been forced to retaliate against infamous businessman Iqbal Survé this week, after the mega-rich media tycoon placed the ANC stalwart at the centre of a political conspiracy.

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) conducted a raid on the offices of Iqbal Survé on Wednesday, allegedly in connection with his investment companies. However, the infamous billionaire – who owns the Independent Media group – claims that the investigation is politically motivated, and says it’s connected to Pravin Gordhan.

Pravin Gordhan vs Iqbal Survé

In a video which captured the afternoon raid, Survé can be heard saying that the raid is part of a plan to stop the Sunday Independent publishing a damning article on both Gordhan and President Ramaphosa this weekend. Some laptops and devices were seized, before Survé’s lawyer arrived on the scene and prevented the auditors from taking any more information without a warrant:

Minister slams political conspiracy

The group have published some rather unflattering articles about Ramaphosa and Gordhan. The president was accused of splurging R1 billion on his CR17 election campaign by the media house, who were also quick to flag the suspicions raised by Public Protector Busiswe Mkhwebane over Minister Gordhan’s links to the SARS “rogue unit”.

However, the Public Enterprises Minister hasn’t taken this latest accusation lying down. He has rallied against the “unsubstantiated” attacks, which also saw the media mogul accuse Pravin of capturing the judiciary. In a statement released by his lawyers, Gordhan has slammed Survé for making “false and defamatory” claims.

“Mr Survé has launched unsubstantiated attacks on our client without any evidence or facts. He also attacked the judiciary. He is invited to produce proof of allegations he has made about the two judges, including a claim that one judge granted the warrant did because he has a relationship with our client [Pravin Gordhan].”

“What the South African public knows is that Mr Survé and his business entities have been the subject of the Mpati Commission of Inquiry. The attempt at deflecting attention from this, by making false and defamatory allegations against Minister Gordhan and others, will not assist him and others in being held accountable for possible transgressions of the law.”

Lawyers for the Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan