- Sunday, February 23, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
A court in South Africa on Monday, June 7, found Mahatma Gandhi’s great-granddaughter Ashish Lata Ramgobin guilty in connection with a six-million rand fraud and forgery case and sent her to seven years in prison. The 56-year-old woman was accused of defrauding businessman SR Maharaj after the latter gave her R6.2 million (around USDS 457,000) for allegedly clearing import and Customs duties for a non-existent consignment from India.
Ramgobin is the daughter of Gandhi’s 80-year-old granddaughter Ela Gandhi, an internationally acclaimed activist, and the late Mewa Ramgovind. She was also refused to appeal the conviction and sentence by the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court.
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The trial in the case against Ramgobin started in 2015 and according to Brigadier Hangwanu Mulaudzi of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the former had allegedly given fake invoices and documents to convince potential investors that three containers of linen were being brought from India.
On Monday, the court was informed during the hearing that Ramgobin had met Maharaj, director of the New Africa Alliance Footwear Distributors, in August 2015. His company imports, manufactures and sells clothing, linen and footwear besides providing finance to other firms on a profit-share basis. Ramgobin had told Maharaj that she had imported three containers of linen for the South African Hospital Group NetCare.
“She said she was experiencing financial difficulties to pay for import costs and customs and she needed the money to clear the goods at the harbour,” NPA spokesperson Natasha Kara said on Monday.
“She advised him (Maharaj) that she needed R6.2 million. To convince him, she showed him what she claimed was a signed purchase order for the goods. Later that month, she sent him what seemed to be a NetCare invoice and delivery note as proof that the goods were delivered and payment was imminent,” she said. Lata Ramgobin “further sent him confirmation from NetCare’s bank account that payment had been made”, Kara added.
Maharaj believed Ramgobin because of her family background
Maharaj believed Ramgobin because of her family name and NetCare documents and after finding that the documents were forged, brought criminal charges against her, Press Trust of India reported. She was earlier released on a bail of 50,000 rand (USD 3,684) but this time, the court did not let her off.
Ramgobin has also been an active rights activist and founded the Participative Development Initiative at NGO International Center for Non Violence for which she was the executive director. Her areas of interests have been environmental, social and political.
Gandhi had spent over two decades in South Africa in the late 1890s and early 1900s and emerged in a leading role in the struggle against discrimination there and later in India.
