But Gaur is a businessman with allegedly controversial dealings. He has made millions of Pula, most of which he sends to his home country electronically. After a few months' visit to his native India, Gaur is back in Botswana. He is under active investigation by the Serious Crime Squad. But tarry a little for now. We go to a man called Collin Duncan who runs a law firm in Gaborone called Collin Duncan and Associates. Duncan talks fast and likes to quote specific cases to support an argument. Incidentally, whenever Gaur has to answer for his dealings, which is often, he becomes taciturn: "Talk to my lawyer," is all he says. Gaur's lawyer is Collin Duncan.
Gaur is allegedly a master of fraud. He is said to have engaged in possible tax evasion, using false documents, forgery of documents and illegally operating a business in the country.
He has allegedly used his operations to gain controlling stakes in many businesses. There is a company called Aryan (Pty) Ltd, which is owned by Gaur and his wife Priyanka Joshi.
On 28 March 2003, the Regional Immigration Office in Gaborone issued Residence Permit No: 419/2003. In the permit, Gaur was authorised to reside in Botswana for the purpose of operating a business called Variety Investments (Pty) Ltd. The residence permit is valid until 31 March 2008. On his Residence permit, there is a note reading: "There shall be no change of employment or occupation or business, during the validity of this permit".
The share certificate of Aryan (Pty) Ltd shows that on 5 May 2003, Gaur gained a stake in Aryan. Inspite of a stipulation of the Immigration Act that such an acquisition should be declared to the authorities, Gaur failed to do so.
In fact, by 5 February 2007, Gaur was still using the residence permit that, strictly speaking, was no longer valid for the type of job he is doing; running Aryan (Pty) Ltd.
The work permit he is currently using is valid only for operating Variety Investments, but Mmegi investigations revealed that Gaur has stakes in, and is a director of, no less than three local companies. But this is neither reflected in his current valid residence permit (number 419/2003), nor in his Non-Citizens Work Permit (number 176/2003). This should mean that Gaur's involvement in those companies, the names of which Mmegi has, is illegal and that he is operating a business for which he has no permit, if he is still using Residence Permit no 419/2003.
Aryan (Pty) Ltd., which functions as a business consultancy, has a controversial history. On its website www.aryanconsultantsbotswana.net Gaur makes untrue statements about the profile of Aryan and his own professional history.
Gaur's sales pitch is that he is a business consultant who cannot only help start-up businesses, but he can also help raise loans from an institution called the Southern African Development Fund (SADF) which is purported to offer loans and investment to businesses in southern Africa. In order for them to access its credit facilities, Gaur allegedly urges his clients to register with SADF, which he claims to represent, and to pay a set fraction of the loan required. It is after payment of this nominal fee that things usually start to get complicated for the businessperson, sources say. Although the website oscillates between what is called the Southern African, and the South African, Development Fund, Mmegi can reveal that there is no such thing as the Southern African Development Fund and that the South African Development Fund is a charitable organisation not engaged in business funding. In one of his many underhand dealings, Gaur, acting as director of Aryan also allegedly acquired property worth P520, 000. He avoided transfer duty since he acquired the property through transfer of shares. Gaur embellishes his own curriculum vitae. He claims to have worked for the International Finance Corporation in the United Kingdom. Although IFC representatives had not responded to Mmegi enquiries at the time of going to press, a search of the organisation's website did not draw any results for the name Amit Gaur, even though the man claims to have been the IFC's Senior Project Officer with expertise on southern Africa.
A search on the website of corporate giant the Aditya Birla Group, where Gaur says he was Finance Manager, also drew a blank.
In the end, Gaur referred Mmegi to Duncan, who argues that while there may have been some things that Gaur may have overlooked in his dealings with other businesspeople, "there is a lot more going on in other places around this country."
However, he maintains that although people have made all manner of allegations against Gaur, they have all failed to bring forth substantial evidence. "Gaur has done nothing criminal as far as I know. If you are talking about civil matters, then those people who accuse my client of having done anything unfair to them should come forth and bring the evidence." Gaur is currently in Botswana pending investigations by the Serious Crime Squad. In the end, whether Amit Gaur is nothing but a suave swindler will depend on whether the authorities succeed in building a case.
