We Know Who's Behind The WMCleaks Website -- And They're Employed By The Guptas

The man responsible for the website and the smear campaign against leading SA journalists is a former Gupta employee.
A general view of the Sahara computers headquarters, owned by the Gupta family, is seen in Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, April 14, 2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
A general view of the Sahara computers headquarters, owned by the Gupta family, is seen in Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, April 14, 2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
Siphiwe Sibeko / Reuters

The "journalist" responsible for the website www.wmcleaks.com and its "exposés" of the likes of Times Media editor, Peter Bruce and amaBhungane's Sam Sole has been revealed. According to Daily Maverick, the man behind the articles on the site is a former employee of the Gupta's IT company, Sahara, named Saurabh Aggarwal.

Aggarwal reportedly joined the Gupta-owned The New Age before leaving in February 2014 to join ANN7. His address is reportedly listed as being next door to the Gupta family compound in Saxonwold.

Attempts to contact Aggarwal by Daily Maverick were unsuccessful.

The site is largely anonymous, and was established to reveal some exclusive leaks about the misdoings of the white capitalists". It has featured articles accusing the likes of Sole, HuffPost SA editor-at-large Ferial Haffajee, senior Treasury officials and banks, and Julius Malema of being defenders of white monopoly capital.

Some of the articles centring around Bruce have featured descriptions of his marital life, and photographs of Bruce's day-to-day life, indicating that the authors have been following him.

No information is provided about the site's administrators.

Bruce told Daily Maverick he intended to sue for crimen injuria.

Using metadata analysis and other tools. Daily Maverick was able to establish that the PDF on Bruce, posted on the site, was created by a user known as Saurabh, on 18 June, using a time stamp used only in India.

This could mean that the journalist or those who ordered the so-called "investigation" are based in India.

Aggarwal reportedly left ANN7 in February 2015 and joined an IT company where he is currently based, in New Delhi, India, Daily Maverick reported.

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