Harassed At Work

Tony Gupta is named in the Gupta Leaks as someone who sexually harassed female employees. Of his alleged victims speak out and detail how it all unfolded.

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THANKS to the explosive e-mails, the Guptas’ astonishing attempts to manipulate state coffers, the economy and the government have been laid bare. But recently revelations of a different nature emerged when former female employees told of shocking sexual harassment at the hands of the Gupta brothers.

The women spoke to the Daily Maverick’s investigative unit Scorpio, which – along with amaBhungane – has been at the forefront of the e-mail revelations. This is their story. 

“It was the worst 24 hours of my life.”

That is how a former personal assistant to Tony Gupta describes her time working for him. 

She lasted only one day. 

Her name and identity have been confirmed but, for her own protection, we’ll call her Christine.

All the women who spoke to us for this story insisted on anonymity out of fear for their personal safety.

Christine said that on the first and only day of working for Tony Gupta, she was required to accompany him from Johannesburg – on what would be an overnight business trip – to Cape Town.

On the Guptas’ private jet Tony Gupta didn’t speak to her at all. Upon arrival at a house in Cape Town she was offered a Coke to drink and told she wasn’t allowed to use her cellphone at any time.

“I couldn’t even let my husband know I was there safely,” Christine remembers. She was then instructed to go into a bedroom for a “meeting” with Tony Gupta.

“He told me all his PAs are expected to give him massages and sleep in the same bed as him,” Christine says. “I told him I wasn’t comfortable with that and would prefer my own bed and bathroom.He then asked me to give him a massage. I declined.”