In a 6-million-rand defrauding case, Ashish Lata Ramgobin, Mahatma Gandhi’s great-granddaughter, was sentenced to seven years in prison by a South African court.
Ms Ramgobin, 56, was found guilty of cheating entrepreneur SR Maharaj, who had paid her 62 lakh rands (about 3.3 crore) to pass customs and import fees on a cargo from India that never came, according to news agency PTI’s Bhasha language service. He had been promised a percentage of the earnings in exchange for his financial assistance
Ms Ramgobin is the daughter of activists Ela Gandhi and late Mewa Ramgobind
Ms Ramgobin fabricated phoney invoices and documentation to imply that the containers of linen were coming in South Africa from India, according to Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi of the National Prosecuting Authority, who testified during the trial in 2015.
Her bail was set at 50,000 Rands with a 50,000 Rand surety.
New Africa Alliance Footwear, Mr Maharaj’s firm, specialises in the export, production, and selling of clothing, linens, and shoes. It also gives financial assistance to businesses.
Ms Ramgobin visited Mr Maharaj in August 2015 and told him she had bought three linen containers from India for the South African hospital business Netcare, according to court documents filed on Monday. Mr Maharaj had also signed a contract with her.
After learning that the package would not arrive in South Africa, Mr. Maharaj filed a police report.
